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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. march — the month
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mate — a friend
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mate — a partner
  9. field — for sport
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. file — a tool
  14. chair — a leader
  15. field — a subject
  16. file — a document
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. field — farmland
  19. march — the month
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mate — to breed
  23. march — music
  24. chair — to sit on

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