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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rest — a break
  5. band — a ring
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. stock — shares
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. band — a music group
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stock — goods
  14. cold — not warm
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. rush — hurry
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pitch — completely
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rest — what's left

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