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

Word bank: hide · date · bat · cap · stand · trunk · lash · stick

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. date — the fruit
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cap — a hat
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stand — to bear
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bat — the animal
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cap — of ice
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. date — on the calendar
  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