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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cold — not warm
  7. suit — clothes
  8. spell — magic
  9. band — a ring
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. spell — a short time
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. suit — in cards
  17. snap — to click
  18. band — a music group
  19. spell — letters
  20. suit — to fit
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wind — moving air
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cold — the Cold War

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