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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. court — of law
  14. mine — for digging
  15. saw — the tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. file — a document
  24. sharp — clever

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