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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. foot — a measure
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mine — for digging
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. lean — thin
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. lean — to bend
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. foot — part of the body

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