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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: mate · file · game · spell · trunk · leaves

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. spell — letters
  3. mate — a friend
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. mate — to breed
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. spell — magic
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. file — a document
  11. mate — a partner
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spell — a short time
  15. file — a tool
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play

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