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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. tube — a container
  5. craft — a skill
  6. staff — employees
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. staff — a stick
  10. root — the cause
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cold — an illness
  18. staff — employees
  19. tube — the underground
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. craft — boats
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tube — in a tire

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