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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. prune — to trim
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. kick — in football
  8. shower — to wash
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. board — to get on
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cold — an illness
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. board — a committee
  18. cold — not warm
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. shower — rain
  22. present — a gift
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. prune — to trim

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