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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. cold — an illness
  3. spring — the season
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bank — for money
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bank — of a river
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chip — to eat
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bank — for money
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. spring — of water
  24. cold — not warm

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