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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. file — a tool
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. mate — a friend
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. file — a line of people
  9. degree — from a university
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bore — to tire
  12. mate — a partner
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. kick — in football
  17. file — a document
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mate — to breed
  20. toast — bread
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. degree — an amount
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. bore — to drill

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