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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. rule — government
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ball — a dance
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pitch — completely

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