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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wound — an injury
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pop — music
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wound — an injury
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pop — to visit
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. branch — a division
  17. pop — soda
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a handicraft

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