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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rash — hasty
  3. net — after costs
  4. date — the fruit
  5. net — for catching
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. fall — the season
  13. scale — in music
  14. board — a committee
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. scale — size or range
  18. net — in sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. board — to get on
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. board — a flat piece

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