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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cap — a hat
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bank — for money
  8. wound — an injury
  9. land — to come down
  10. bank — of a river
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bank — for money
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wound — an injury
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. cap — of ice
  24. ball — a dance

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