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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. file — a document
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. perch — the fish
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. firm — steady
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. file — a tool
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. file — a line of people
  22. firm — a company
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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