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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · cell · ground · scale · lie · trunk

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. ground — a position
  5. scale — in music
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. lie — to recline
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. ground — the earth
  14. file — a document
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. scale — size or range
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people

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