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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. branch — a division
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wind — moving air
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pitcher — a jug

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