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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. mark — a trace
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spring — the season
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — music
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mark — a grade
  16. swing — to play on
  17. spring — of water
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. perch — the fish
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. mark — to pay attention

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