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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 120 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: dip · wake · lie · trunk · bear · cold · patient · cell

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — an illness
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cell — in biology
  24. dip — to sink

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