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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 120 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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. can — a tin
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cue — a hint
  7. spring — a coil
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cue — for pool
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. ground — crushed
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. can — a tin
  18. ground — a position
  19. cell — a phone
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. ground — the earth
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. can — to be able to

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