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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. land — to come down
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. craft — boats
  9. craft — a skill
  10. land — ground
  11. bat — the animal
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. present — there
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. scale — size or range
  16. current — of water
  17. present — the time now
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. current — electric
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. current — happening now
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. land — a country

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