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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 116 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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pop — to visit
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. land — ground
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — final
  7. pop — soda
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. firm — steady
  10. rest — what's left
  11. land — to come down
  12. last — finally
  13. rest — a break
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. last — to go on
  16. firm — a company
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pop — music
  21. rest — what's left
  22. firm — decided
  23. land — a country
  24. cell — in biology

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