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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. game — a match
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cell — in biology
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. game — wild animals
  12. file — a line of people
  13. spell — a short time
  14. file — a tool
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — magic
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cell — a phone

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