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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. foot — a measure
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. last — to go on
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — an illness
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chair — a leader
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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