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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.

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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: trunk · land · current · hand · key · file · season · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. current — of water
  9. key — in music
  10. land — a country
  11. key — the most important part
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. current — happening now
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. land — to come down
  18. file — a tool
  19. key — for a lock
  20. current — electric
  21. land — ground
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. trunk — of a car

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