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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. charge — in control
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cold — not warm
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. charge — a price
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. charge — electricity
  18. chest — of your body
  19. shower — rain
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. chest — a box
  24. shower — to wash

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