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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. face — part of the head
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — to protest
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. wax — to grow
  10. face — to confront
  11. key — for a lock
  12. court — for sport
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. key — the most important part
  15. court — of law
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. face — to point toward
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. object — an aim
  21. court — of a king
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. key — in music
  24. cold — the Cold War

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