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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. spring — a coil
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. face — to confront
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. spring — the season
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. hide — animal skin

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