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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a lid
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. spell — letters
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. spring — the season
  21. cap — a hat
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rock — a stone
  24. spring — of water

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