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

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spell — letters
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. ball — a great time
  11. spell — a short time
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. spell — magic
  14. bound — tied together
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged

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