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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — help
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chair — a leader
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. drill — army training
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mine — for digging
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fall — the season
  24. chair — a professorship

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