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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. band — a music group
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. cold — not warm
  11. staff — a stick
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a ring
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. staff — employees
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. staff — employees

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