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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. court — for sport
  4. root — the cause
  5. charge — in control
  6. kid — to tease
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cell — in biology
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. root — of a word
  11. charge — electricity
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — in music
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. charge — a price
  16. cell — a phone
  17. root — of a plant
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. court — of a king
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. court — of law
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. kid — child

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