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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chest — of your body
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. mate — a friend
  13. club — a group
  14. mate — to breed
  15. chest — of your body
  16. club — for golf
  17. chest — a box
  18. mate — a partner
  19. race — a contest
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mine — for digging
  22. race — the arms race
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. race — humankind

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