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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rock — music
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. branch — a division
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. rock — a stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a hole
  24. branch — of a bank

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