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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stand — to bear
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wound — an injury
  6. race — the arms race
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. race — a contest
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wound — an injury
  17. game — a match
  18. spring — the season
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. race — humankind
  21. spring — of water
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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