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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. band — a music group
  3. chair — a leader
  4. season — in sport
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. season — of the year
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cold — not warm
  15. snap — to click
  16. cold — an illness
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. band — a ring
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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