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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: bat · cold · foot · stick · chip · bore · bear · trunk

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bore — to tire
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chip — for betting
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bat — the animal
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. chip — to eat

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