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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 · rule · mark · cold · safe · present · spell · wave

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. mark — a trace
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. spell — magic
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. present — there
  13. rule — a law
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. present — the time now
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. spell — letters
  18. rule — government
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. spell — a short time
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cold — an illness

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