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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. land — to come down
  5. mate — a partner
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mate — a friend
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. mate — to breed
  11. hand — help
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. hand — in cards
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. perch — the fish
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. fall — to drop
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. trunk — of a car

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