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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. degree — temperature
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. can — to be able to
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cold — not warm
  7. firm — a company
  8. cap — a hat
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cap — of ice
  12. can — a tin
  13. cold — an illness
  14. degree — from a university
  15. firm — steady
  16. fork — in a road
  17. can — a tin
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cap — a lid

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