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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. can — to be able to
  6. cold — an illness
  7. branch — a division
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. can — a tin
  12. cold — not warm
  13. suit — to fit
  14. suit — in cards
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bat — the animal
  18. suit — clothes
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. can — a tin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cabinet — ministers

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