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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: ground · snap · board · bear · chest · tube · calf · hide

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. snap — to click
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tube — a container
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. board — to get on
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. ground — the earth
  14. board — a committee
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chest — a box
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. ground — a position
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. chest — of your body
  24. board — a flat piece

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