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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. charge — a price
  5. degree — from a university
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. charge — electricity
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bark — to shout
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cell — a phone
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. degree — an amount
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. charge — in control
  24. bark — of a tree

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