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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: bass · present · file · race · trunk · hide · sharp · leaves

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. race — the arms race
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bass — the fish
  8. sharp — clever
  9. file — a tool
  10. bass — low music
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. race — a contest
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. file — a line of people
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. present — a gift
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. present — the time now
  20. file — a document
  21. race — humankind
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. present — there
  24. leaves — of a tree

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