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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 116 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. net — after costs
  3. present — the time now
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. file — a document
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. net — in sport
  10. bat — the animal
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. file — a tool
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. present — there
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wake — a trail
  23. present — a gift
  24. net — for catching

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