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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cold — not warm
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. can — a tin
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cap — a hat
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. cap — a lid
  12. can — a tin
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. can — to be able to
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rest — a break
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. trunk — of a car
  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