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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. snap — to click
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. current — electric
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. pound — a weight
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. current — of water
  13. capital — a city
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. capital — money
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. squash — to crush
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. squash — the sport
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. current — happening now

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