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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cold — not warm
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. wound — an injury
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. file — a tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. row — a line
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cold — an illness
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. file — a document

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