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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · straw · trunk · rest · file · season

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. season — of the year
  4. file — a tool
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. season — in sport
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rest — a break
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rest — what's left
  18. file — a document

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