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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. wind — moving air
  3. perch — the fish
  4. net — after costs
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — in sport
  23. chest — a box
  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