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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: court · cold · trunk · bear · object · file · current · stick

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — an illness
  4. object — an aim
  5. current — of water
  6. file — a tool
  7. court — for sport
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. object — a thing
  13. bear — the animal
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. file — a document
  16. current — electric
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bear — the animal
  19. court — of a king
  20. object — to protest
  21. court — of law
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. current — happening now

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