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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. staff — a stick
  6. snap — to click
  7. field — for sport
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. staff — employees
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. field — a subject
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. field — farmland
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. staff — employees
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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