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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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Word bank
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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: snap · stick · hide · object · ground · file · trunk · field

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. snap — to click
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. file — a tool
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. field — for sport
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. file — a document
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. ground — crushed
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. file — a line of people

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