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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: cold · cabinet · last · trunk · cap · temple · stick · scale

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. last — finally
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cap — a lid
  12. last — final
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. cap — of ice
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cold — an illness
  23. last — to go on
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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