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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mine — for digging
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rock — a stone
  9. content — happy
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. plane — a tool
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. vault — a safe
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. cold — an illness
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rock — music
  24. mine — an explosive

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