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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rock — a stone
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chair — a leader
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. march — music
  9. rock — music
  10. march — the month
  11. bank — for money
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bank — for money
  21. march — the month
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bank — of a river

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