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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 116 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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. last — finally
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. hand — help
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. field — for sport
  12. last — final
  13. club — for dancing
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. face — to point toward
  17. last — to go on
  18. face — to confront
  19. field — farmland
  20. club — for golf
  21. face — part of the head
  22. hand — in cards
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. field — a subject

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