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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. land — ground
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. squash — to crush
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. current — electric
  15. bat — the animal
  16. land — a country
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. current — happening now
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. land — to come down
  22. current — of water
  23. squash — the sport
  24. calf — a young animal

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