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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. field — a subject
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. field — farmland
  10. file — a line of people
  11. net — in sport
  12. firm — decided
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. net — for catching
  15. firm — steady
  16. field — for sport
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cell — in biology
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — after costs
  23. cell — a phone
  24. firm — a company

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