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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 124 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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. spell — letters
  4. cold — not warm
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. spell — magic
  10. press — to push
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. season — of the year
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spell — a short time
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — a publisher
  19. season — in sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. fan — a supporter

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