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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fork — in a road
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wound — an injury
  13. club — a group
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. tube — a container
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. club — for golf
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — a weight
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tube — in a tire

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