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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rash — a series
  4. clip — a video
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. clip — for paper
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bank — for money
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rash — hasty
  16. prune — to trim
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. prune — to trim
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bank — of a river
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. mine — an explosive

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