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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. march — the month
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. present — the time now
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. march — music
  8. file — a line of people
  9. present — a gift
  10. file — a document
  11. content — the amount
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. present — there
  14. net — for catching
  15. bore — to drill
  16. net — in sport
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. content — happy
  19. net — after costs
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. march — the month
  22. file — a tool
  23. bore — to tire
  24. trunk — of a tree

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