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

Word bank: mine · trunk · fall · stick · cold · safe · pitch · wax

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fall — to drop
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mine — for digging
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. fall — the season
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cold — not warm

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