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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mate — a partner
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. ball — a dance
  8. spring — of water
  9. game — a match
  10. clip — a video
  11. file — a document
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. game — wild animals
  14. clip — for paper
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mate — to breed
  17. file — a tool
  18. key — the most important part
  19. ball — a great time
  20. spring — the season
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mate — a friend
  23. spring — a coil
  24. clip — to cut

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