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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. bear — the animal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. chair — a leader
  13. ground — a position
  14. bear — the animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ground — crushed
  18. scale — in music
  19. file — a line of people
  20. ground — the earth
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. chair — to sit on

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