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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 116 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. object — to protest
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. fall — the season
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pass — a permit
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bark — to shout
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. cold — the Cold War

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