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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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. band — a ring
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. band — a music group
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. net — after costs
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. net — in sport
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. net — for catching

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