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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cold — an illness
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cap — a hat
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rest — a break
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rest — what's left
  18. can — to be able to
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. rest — what's left
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. foot — a measure

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