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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — money
  11. root — of a word
  12. hand — help
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. root — of a plant
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. root — the cause

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