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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. present — there
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. present — the time now
  9. mark — a trace
  10. present — a gift
  11. field — for sport
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. prune — to trim
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. field — farmland
  21. mark — a grade
  22. field — a subject
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hide — to keep secret

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