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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. roll — a list
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bulb — for light
  5. file — a tool
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. key — in music
  8. file — a document
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. degree — from a university
  12. key — for a lock
  13. season — of the year
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. roll — a cake
  22. wake — a trail
  23. key — the most important part
  24. roll — on a roll

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