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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.

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: stick · trunk · shower · file · mine · bulb · cap · key

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cap — a hat
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — in music
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. shower — rain
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. file — a tool
  11. key — the most important part
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a line of people
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cap — of ice
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. file — a document
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bulb — for light

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