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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. march — the month
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. club — for dancing
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. club — a group
  19. march — the month
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. club — for golf
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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