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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. degree — an amount
  3. file — a line of people
  4. staff — employees
  5. net — for catching
  6. file — a document
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. staff — employees
  9. key — in music
  10. file — a tool
  11. degree — from a university
  12. key — the most important part
  13. degree — temperature
  14. field — a subject
  15. key — for a lock
  16. field — farmland
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. field — for sport
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. staff — a stick

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