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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. bound — tied together
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bound — certain
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cold — not warm
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mug — to rob
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mug — a face
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. club — for golf
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bulb — for light
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. club — a group
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cold — the Cold War

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