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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 · stick · bear · chip · cue · cold · mine · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cue — for pool
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. row — a line
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cue — a hint
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. chip — for betting
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bear — the animal
  21. chip — to eat
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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