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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. present — the time now
  4. kid — child
  5. file — a line of people
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. kid — to tease
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. file — a tool
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — a position
  21. present — there
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ground — the earth
  24. file — a document

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