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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pop — music
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pit — in a race
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pop — soda
  11. rule — a law
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. file — a document
  16. rule — government
  17. file — a tool
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. file — a line of people
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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