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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 120 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cap — a lid
  6. hand — in cards
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rock — music
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rock — a stone
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. hand — help
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. stock — shares
  19. cap — a hat
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. stock — goods
  24. hand — part of the body

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