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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — to bend
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. present — the time now
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. band — a ring
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. present — a gift
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. lean — thin
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. band — a music group

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