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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · content · trunk · wound · sharp · foot · club · suit

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. foot — a measure
  3. club — for golf
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. suit — in cards
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. sharp — clever
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. suit — to fit
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wound — an injury
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. club — for dancing
  17. content — happy
  18. suit — clothes
  19. cold — not warm
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. cold — an illness
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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