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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 116 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: last · wound · trunk · ball · deal · kick · cold · lean

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lean — thin
  9. kick — in football
  10. lean — to bend
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. cold — an illness
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. ball — a great time
  20. last — to go on
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. last — final
  24. ball — a dance

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