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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. present — there
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. can — to be able to
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. present — a gift
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cold — not warm
  18. can — a tin
  19. wound — an injury
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. can — a tin
  22. present — the time now
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chair — a professorship

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