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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. last — to go on
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mine — for digging
  7. last — finally
  8. roll — a list
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. last — final
  16. rush — hurry
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. kid — to tease
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. kid — child
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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