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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: band · trunk · cold · snap · racket · spell · toast · fine

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fine — all right
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — bread
  8. band — a music group
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spell — magic
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cold — an illness
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. snap — to click
  19. spell — letters
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cold — not warm
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. spell — a short time
  24. band — a ring

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