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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. toast — bread
  3. file — a line of people
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. object — an aim
  7. file — a tool
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. drill — a practice
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. object — to protest
  12. cell — in biology
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. capital — money
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. object — a thing
  18. capital — a city
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. file — a document
  21. drill — army training
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. pitch — completely

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