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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. land — to come down
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pass — a permit
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. fall — to drop
  9. land — ground
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. land — a country
  15. pitch — completely
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. fall — the season
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. last — finally
  24. trunk — of a tree

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