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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. tear — from crying
  4. key — the most important part
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. key — in music
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. rash — a series
  9. tear — from crying
  10. sharp — clever
  11. present — a gift
  12. march — music
  13. rash — hasty
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. tear — to rip
  20. march — the month
  21. key — for a lock
  22. march — the month
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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