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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  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. jam — a tight spot
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. degree — temperature
  4. file — a line of people
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. key — for a lock
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. degree — from a university
  12. key — in music
  13. shower — rain
  14. degree — an amount
  15. file — a tool
  16. shower — to wash
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. file — a document
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bear — the animal
  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