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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. shower — to wash
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. content — happy
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. file — a document
  11. content — the amount
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. staff — a stick
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. file — a line of people
  18. staff — employees
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. field — a subject
  21. staff — employees
  22. field — farmland
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. file — a tool

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