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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 124 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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. spring — of water
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cold — an illness
  7. staff — a stick
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wind — moving air
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — the season
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. spring — a coil
  18. prune — to trim
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. prune — to trim

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