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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. cap — of ice
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cap — a hat
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cold — not warm
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cap — a lid
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wound — an injury

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