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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. spell — a short time
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cold — an illness
  8. land — a country
  9. rock — music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. race — the arms race
  14. land — ground
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. spell — letters
  19. race — humankind
  20. land — to come down
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. spell — magic
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. race — a contest

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