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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pitch — completely
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. shower — to wash
  10. mine — for digging
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. last — final
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — to go on
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wind — moving air
  18. snap — to click
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. shower — rain
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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