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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. roll — a cake
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. present — a gift
  9. land — a country
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. land — to come down
  14. present — there
  15. roll — a list
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitch — completely
  22. land — ground
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. present — the time now

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