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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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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: cold · march · sharp · fan · safe · deal · saw · trunk

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cold — an illness
  6. sharp — clever
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — the month
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. deal — to handle
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. march — music
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. march — the month

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