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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. file — a tool
  4. content — happy
  5. chip — for betting
  6. net — after costs
  7. rest — a break
  8. staff — employees
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. staff — a stick
  12. row — to paddle
  13. rest — what's left
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. net — for catching
  16. chip — to eat
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. row — a line
  19. staff — employees
  20. net — in sport
  21. file — a document
  22. content — the amount
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. file — a line of people

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