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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. file — a tool
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cell — in biology
  8. key — the most important part
  9. file — a document
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. content — happy
  12. cell — a phone
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. key — for a lock
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. content — the amount
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. file — a line of people
  23. key — in music
  24. roll — a list

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