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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. capital — a city
  3. chest — a box
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cold — an illness
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. rash — a series
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. degree — an amount
  19. capital — money
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. rash — hasty
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bear — to put up with

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