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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — thin
  9. spell — magic
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spell — letters
  12. cap — a hat
  13. perch — the fish
  14. file — a line of people
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. file — a document
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. file — a tool
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. spell — a short time
  22. lean — to bend
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cap — of ice

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