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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. tear — to rip
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. swing — to play on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. game — wild animals
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bear — the animal
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. swing — music
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bear — the animal
  24. swing — in golf

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