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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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Word bank
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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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. chair — a professorship
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pit — in a race
  9. key — for a lock
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. capital — a city
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pit — a hole
  17. key — in music
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. capital — money
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. key — the most important part

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