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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. track — a path
  5. track — to keep track
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. last — to go on
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. last — finally
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. track — a song
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. field — for sport

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