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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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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: bear · pitcher · trunk · lie · rash · safe · file · bat

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bear — the animal
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. file — a document
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bat — the animal
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rash — a series

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