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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. kid — to tease
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. shower — rain
  6. field — a subject
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cue — a signal
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. shower — to wash
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cue — for pool
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. lean — thin

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