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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. object — to protest
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. object — a thing
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. file — a line of people
  10. sharp — clever
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. field — for sport
  18. spell — a short time
  19. object — an aim
  20. spell — magic
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. file — a tool
  23. spell — letters
  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