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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. file — a line of people
  4. net — after costs
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — to rob
  7. spring — the season
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. net — for catching
  10. chest — a box
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. file — a document
  13. spring — of water
  14. bass — the fish
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. file — a tool
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. net — in sport
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bass — low music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chest — of your body

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