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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cap — a lid
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. drill — a practice
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. drill — the tool
  8. squash — to crush
  9. drill — army training
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bound — certain
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bound — obliged
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cold — not warm

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