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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. cell — a phone
  8. hand — help
  9. last — to go on
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kid — to tease
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hand — in cards
  16. last — final
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pound — a weight
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. last — finally
  24. pitch — completely

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