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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. last — final
  4. branch — a division
  5. object — to protest
  6. swing — music
  7. object — a thing
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. last — finally
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rest — what's left
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. ball — a dance
  16. swing — to play on
  17. hand — help
  18. rest — a break
  19. last — to go on
  20. hand — in cards
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. rest — what's left
  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