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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rest — a break
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. cue — a hint
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cue — a signal
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rest — what's left
  12. foot — a measure
  13. content — happy
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. ground — crushed
  16. content — the amount
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. trunk — of a tree

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