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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ball — a dance
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. ball — a great time
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cold — an illness
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bulb — for light
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. race — a contest
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. race — humankind
  21. cell — a phone
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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