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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. hand — help
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — the animal
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kick — in football
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — a cake
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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