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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bank — of a river
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. sharp — clever
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lean — thin
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bank — for money
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bank — for money
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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