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

Word bank: court · wind · file · trunk · present · fan · key · root

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. key — for a lock
  5. present — there
  6. wind — moving air
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — the cause
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. file — a document
  11. key — the most important part
  12. present — the time now
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a line of people
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. present — a gift
  19. key — in music
  20. root — of a plant
  21. court — for sport
  22. file — a tool
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wind — to turn a key

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