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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. drill — army training
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. spring — the season
  13. drill — the tool
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. date — the fruit
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. spring — a coil
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pitch — completely
  24. drill — a practice

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