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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pitch — completely
  4. present — a gift
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mark — a grade
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. present — the time now
  9. drill — army training
  10. present — there
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. file — a line of people
  14. lie — to recline
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a trace
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. file — a document
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. file — a tool
  24. trunk — of a tree

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