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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. court — for sport
  3. current — electric
  4. current — of water
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. key — in music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. current — happening now
  10. file — a tool
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fine — all right
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. key — the most important part
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. file — a document
  21. key — for a lock
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. file — a line of people

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