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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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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bat — the animal
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. file — a document
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. hand — in cards
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. hand — help
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. present — there
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. file — a tool
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. present — the time now
  24. bat — for 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