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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 124 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. spring — the season
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spring — a coil
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cell — in biology
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. file — a document
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cell — a phone
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. spring — of water
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. coach — a trainer

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