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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. branch — a division
  4. bulb — for light
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. key — the most important part
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. file — a tool
  10. bulb — for light
  11. file — a document
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. key — for a lock
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. key — in music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wind — moving air
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bulb — of a plant

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