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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bank — of a river
  3. season — in sport
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bank — for money
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. object — to protest
  10. cold — not warm
  11. object — a thing
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pitch — completely
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. mine — for digging
  18. season — of the year
  19. object — an aim
  20. bank — for money
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. hand — help
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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