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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. file — a line of people
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. march — the month
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. march — music
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pitch — completely
  15. scale — in music
  16. file — a tool
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. file — a document

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