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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. charge — in control
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — for catching
  7. fall — the season
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. charge — electricity
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. net — after costs
  14. wake — a trail
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. net — in sport
  17. charge — a price
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  24. trunk — of a car

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