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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. last — finally
  8. season — in sport
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. file — a line of people
  15. present — the time now
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. present — there
  18. file — a tool
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. bulb — for light
  23. court — of a king
  24. present — a gift

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