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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. clip — to cut
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. clip — for paper
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. mark — a trace
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. mark — a grade
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. last — to go on
  21. clip — a video
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. last — finally

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