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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pit — a hole
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rush — hurry
  7. file — a tool
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bound — certain
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bound — tied together
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bound — obliged
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cell — a phone
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. file — a document

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