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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 120 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. ball — a great time
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. season — in sport
  10. spring — the season
  11. snap — to click
  12. spring — of water
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. ball — a dance
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. season — of the year
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. arm — a part of something

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