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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rash — hasty
  3. file — a line of people
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. perch — the fish
  9. file — a tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. march — the month
  12. file — a document
  13. march — music
  14. rash — a series
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. staff — employees
  18. march — the month
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. rash — on the skin

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