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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. last — final
  6. current — of water
  7. field — a subject
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. march — the month
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. current — happening now
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. field — for sport
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. current — electric
  20. field — farmland
  21. last — finally
  22. file — a document
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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