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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tube — the underground
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — help
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. field — a subject
  8. race — the arms race
  9. tube — a container
  10. stock — shares
  11. race — a contest
  12. field — farmland
  13. can — a tin
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. field — for sport
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. stock — goods
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. race — humankind

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