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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tear — to rip
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fall — to drop
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fall — the season
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. cold — not warm
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. ball — a dance
  23. tear — from crying
  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