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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. clip — a video
  5. drill — the tool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. clip — for paper
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stand — to bear
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. swing — music
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. swing — to play on
  18. clip — to cut
  19. sharp — clever
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. swing — in golf
  23. drill — army training
  24. stand — on your feet

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