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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chest — of your body
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. degree — from a university
  6. staff — employees
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. chest — a box
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. chest — of your body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pit — a hole
  13. degree — temperature
  14. staff — employees
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. pit — in a race
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. trunk — of a tree

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