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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. cold — an illness
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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