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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. staff — employees
  13. fall — the season
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bulb — for light
  17. staff — employees
  18. bulb — for light
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — not warm
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cold — an illness
  24. trunk — of a tree

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