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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. pop — to visit
  8. kid — child
  9. pop — soda
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. lean — to bend
  16. court — for sport
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. lean — thin
  20. court — of a king
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. court — of law
  24. pop — music

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