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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mug — a cup
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. suit — in cards
  11. suit — clothes
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mug — a face
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mug — to rob
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. suit — to fit
  24. wake — before a funeral

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