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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 124 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. root — of a word
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bank — for money
  8. mine — for digging
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bank — of a river
  11. root — of a plant
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. root — the cause
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. staff — employees

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