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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — the cause
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. last — final
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. last — finally
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. root — of a word
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. last — to go on
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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