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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. foot — a measure
  4. rock — music
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wake — a trail
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. root — the cause
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. rock — a stone
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. saw — the tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. root — of a word
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cold — an illness

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