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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cap — a hat
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. court — of law
  9. squash — the sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. chair — a leader
  13. game — wild animals
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. squash — to crush
  16. court — for sport
  17. cap — of ice
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. shower — rain
  21. cap — a lid
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. game — a match
  24. hide — to keep secret

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