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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 120 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. ball — a dance
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pass — a permit
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. plane — a tool
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. lean — thin
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ball — a great time
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lean — to bend

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