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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 116 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cell — in biology
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. net — for catching
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cell — a phone
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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