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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cell — a phone
  6. file — a tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bulb — for light
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. craft — boats
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. craft — a skill
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. branch — 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