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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: cold · staff · hide · trunk · lean · cell · net · lie

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lean — to bend
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. net — for catching
  6. cell — in biology
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. staff — a stick
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. net — in sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lean — thin
  17. cell — a phone
  18. net — after costs
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. lie — to recline
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. cold — the Cold War

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