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

Word bank: trunk · cell · cold · chair · toast · bay · plane · dip

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — bread
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. dip — to sink
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chair — a leader
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. cell — in biology
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. plane — a tool
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cold — an illness
  24. dip — a sauce

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