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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. last — finally
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. squash — to crush
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. last — final
  13. cold — an illness
  14. last — to go on
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. mate — to breed
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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