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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. chest — of your body
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. scale — size or range
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. craft — a skill
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. snap — to click
  14. scale — in music
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chest — a box

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