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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. tube — the underground
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. march — the month
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — a phone
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cell — in biology
  14. charge — in control
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. charge — a price
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. chest — a box
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. tube — a container

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