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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · hand · march · jam · cold · dip · cell · fine

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. cell — a phone
  4. dip — to sink
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cold — an illness
  12. march — the month
  13. hand — in cards
  14. march — music
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. fine — high quality
  19. cell — in biology
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. fine — all right
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. march — the month
  24. trunk — of a car

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