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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. last — finally
  3. cold — an illness
  4. tear — from crying
  5. present — there
  6. cold — not warm
  7. foot — a measure
  8. suit — clothes
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. present — the time now
  12. suit — in cards
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tear — to rip
  17. scale — size or range
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. present — a gift
  20. last — to go on
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. scale — in music
  23. suit — to fit
  24. last — final

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