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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.

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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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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 · bass · leaves · patient · object · bat · saw · trunk

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bass — the fish
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. object — to protest
  8. saw — the tool
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. object — a thing
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. file — a document
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. file — a line of people
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bass — low music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. object — an aim

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