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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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 — an illness
  2. root — the cause
  3. drill — a practice
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. root — of a plant
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — to come down
  17. root — of a word
  18. land — ground
  19. craft — a skill
  20. prune — to trim
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. land — a country
  23. arm — a part of something
  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