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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. shower — rain
  5. object — to protest
  6. current — of water
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. game — a match
  9. current — happening now
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — to wash
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — an aim
  15. current — electric
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. craft — a skill
  20. bat — the animal
  21. craft — boats
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bat — for baseball

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