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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. mug — a face
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mug — a cup
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cold — not warm
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. deal — to handle
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. shower — rain
  22. mug — to rob
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. leaves — to go away

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