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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. field — farmland
  6. snap — to click
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cold — an illness
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cold — not warm
  14. staff — employees
  15. field — for sport
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. staff — employees
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. field — a subject
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. staff — a stick
  22. branch — a division
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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