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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pass — a permit
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chest — a box
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. chest — of your body
  13. field — farmland
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. field — for sport
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. kick — in football
  18. chest — of your body
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. field — a subject
  22. stock — goods
  23. branch — a division
  24. stock — shares

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