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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. cell — a phone
  3. degree — from a university
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. file — a line of people
  6. march — the month
  7. prune — to trim
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. suit — in cards
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. degree — an amount
  16. suit — to fit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mug — a face
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mug — a cup
  21. file — a document
  22. mug — to rob
  23. file — a tool
  24. degree — temperature

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