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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. branch — a division
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. shower — rain
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. sharp — clever
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. shower — to wash
  16. perch — the fish
  17. rash — a series
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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