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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 116 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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. field — for sport
  3. last — finally
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. file — a line of people
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. field — farmland
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. shower — rain
  11. degree — an amount
  12. file — a document
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — a price
  15. field — a subject
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. degree — from a university
  20. file — a tool
  21. perch — the fish
  22. degree — temperature
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. charge — electricity

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