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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bear — the animal
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — money
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cold — not warm
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cold — the Cold War

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