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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a lid
  4. file — a document
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. file — a tool
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. land — ground
  10. file — a line of people
  11. land — to come down
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. degree — an amount
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. chip — for betting
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cap — a hat
  21. suit — to fit
  22. land — a country
  23. suit — clothes
  24. trunk — of a tree

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