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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. club — for dancing
  3. file — a document
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. club — a group
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. club — for golf
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. rash — hasty
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. rash — a series
  17. chair — a leader
  18. perch — the fish
  19. file — a tool
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. file — a line of people
  24. trunk — of a car

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