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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. field — a subject
  9. stock — shares
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. field — farmland
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. fall — the season
  14. field — for sport
  15. fall — to drop
  16. snap — to click
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base

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