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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cue — a signal
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. file — a tool
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cold — not warm
  10. dip — to sink
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. file — a document
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cue — a hint
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. safe — a strongbox

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