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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bank — for money
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bank — of a river
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. rash — a series
  20. mine — for digging
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bank — for money
  24. mark — a grade

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com