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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bound — obliged
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bound — tied together
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bound — certain
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. chip — to eat
  22. swing — music
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. wake — before a funeral

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