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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. season — in sport
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pass — a permit
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. season — of the year
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. kid — child
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fan — a supporter

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