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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — certain
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — not warm
  11. drill — army training
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bat — the animal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cold — an illness
  21. drill — the tool
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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