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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. cold — an illness
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. press — to push
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bass — the fish
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. press — a publisher
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bass — low music
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. jam — in traffic

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