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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. roll — a cake
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. field — for sport
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cell — in biology
  8. field — a subject
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. squash — to crush
  12. roll — a list
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. field — farmland
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. content — the amount
  17. squash — the sport
  18. content — happy
  19. cell — a phone
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. straw — a straw man

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