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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: trunk · hide · rush · cold · scale · season · plane · straw

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. scale — in music
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. season — in sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. scale — size or range
  13. season — of the year
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cold — an illness
  19. plane — a tool
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cold — not warm
  24. straw — a straw man

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