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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. key — in music
  3. mate — a partner
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. staff — employees
  6. file — a document
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. file — a tool
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. key — for a lock
  13. staff — a stick
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mate — a friend
  16. file — a line of people
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mate — to breed
  20. row — a line
  21. staff — employees
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. kick — in football
  24. key — the most important part

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