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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. fine — all right
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. key — for a lock
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cold — an illness
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. key — in music
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. fine — high quality
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stand — to bear

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