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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — a law
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rush — hurry
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. trunk — of a tree

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