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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spring — the season
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bear — the animal
  9. spring — of water
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ground — a position
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wind — moving air

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