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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. cap — a hat
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cell — a phone
  11. land — ground
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cap — a lid
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. land — a country
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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