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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 124 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. branch — a division
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. root — of a plant
  6. pit — in a race
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. pit — a hole
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. chest — a box
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — a container
  18. root — the cause
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ground — crushed
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wound — an injury
  24. root — of a word

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