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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cap — of ice
  5. roll — a cake
  6. file — a tool
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. fall — to drop
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. cap — a lid
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. roll — a list
  18. cap — a hat
  19. file — a line of people
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. file — a document
  24. leaves — to go away

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