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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. chest — a box
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a word
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. chest — of your body
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. root — of a plant
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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