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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: chest · cold · land · leaves · trunk · prune · bay · squash

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. land — ground
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. land — to come down
  15. prune — to trim
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. squash — to crush
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. squash — the sport
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bay — a horse colour

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