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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. fine — all right
  5. rest — what's left
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. root — of a word
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fine — high quality
  13. root — of a plant
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. row — a line
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pound — a weight
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. row — to paddle
  24. root — the cause

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