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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. field — a subject
  3. file — a tool
  4. field — farmland
  5. lean — to bend
  6. spell — magic
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pop — to visit
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pop — music
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. field — for sport
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. lean — thin
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. pop — soda
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. file — a document

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