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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. prune — to trim
  4. hand — in cards
  5. root — of a plant
  6. hand — help
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. root — the cause
  11. land — to come down
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — ground
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. root — of a word
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. mark — a grade
  19. land — a country
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mark — a trace
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hand — part of the body

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