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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 124 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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. ball — a dance
  3. race — a contest
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lean — thin
  8. ball — a great time
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. cold — an illness
  11. race — humankind
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. staff — employees
  14. cold — not warm
  15. staff — a stick
  16. plane — a tool
  17. spring — of water
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. staff — employees
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. spring — the season
  24. lean — to bend

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