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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · hide · trunk · fan · ground · mouse · squash · foot

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. foot — a measure
  11. content — happy
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. squash — the sport
  17. content — the amount
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ground — a position
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the vegetable

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