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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bass — the fish
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. branch — a division
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bass — low music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. temple — a place of worship

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