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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. file — a tool
  6. tube — the underground
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bark — to shout
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. present — a gift
  12. hand — help
  13. file — a document
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. hand — in cards
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ball — a great time
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. ball — a dance

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