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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. cold — not warm
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. row — a line
  6. cold — an illness
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pop — soda
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. hide — animal skin

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