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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — ground
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. mug — a cup
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mug — to rob
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. land — to come down
  17. kid — child
  18. land — a country
  19. mug — a face
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. trunk — of a car

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