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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: mine · key · tube · trunk · scale · kid · sharp · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. key — for a lock
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mine — for digging
  5. tube — the underground
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cell — in biology
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. tube — a container
  11. key — in music
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. key — the most important part
  16. scale — in music
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. kid — child
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. sharp — clever
  24. scale — size or range

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