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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rest — what's left
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. dip — to sink
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. kick — in football
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. stand — to bear
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. branch — a division

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