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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 116 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: rule · kid · trunk · hide · pitcher · rash · fall · bat

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bat — the animal
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rash — a series
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. kid — child
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. rule — a law
  24. bat — in an idiom

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