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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bank — of a river
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. net — for catching
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bank — for money
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wind — moving air
  9. file — a line of people
  10. net — after costs
  11. sharp — clever
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. file — a document
  17. bank — for money
  18. chair — a leader
  19. file — a tool
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wind — moving air
  23. drill — army training
  24. net — in sport

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