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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bank — for money
  3. last — finally
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. last — final
  8. row — a line
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bank — for money
  13. court — of law
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bank — of a river
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. row — to paddle
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. last — to go on
  23. race — humankind
  24. wake — before a funeral

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