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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. fall — to drop
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. cue — a signal
  6. file — a tool
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wound — an injury
  11. dip — to sink
  12. fall — the season
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. file — a document
  17. cue — for pool
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wound — an injury
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mine — for digging
  24. trunk — of a tree

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