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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. spring — of water
  5. wound — an injury
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mug — a cup
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mug — to rob
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mug — a face
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fine — high quality
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. spring — the season
  19. fine — all right
  20. bark — to shout
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bark — of a tree

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