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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spell — letters
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — a short time
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. spring — of water
  12. fork — in a road
  13. saw — the tool
  14. spring — a coil
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spring — the season
  17. staff — employees
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. staff — employees
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. rest — a break
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cell — in a prison

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