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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to click
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mate — to breed
  9. march — the month
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bear — the animal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cold — not warm
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — an illness
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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