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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. last — finally
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — a match
  6. can — a tin
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. can — a tin
  11. kid — to tease
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cold — not warm
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. can — to be able to
  16. last — to go on
  17. kid — child
  18. plane — a tool
  19. game — wild animals
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. last — final

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