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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 120 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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. land — to come down
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. march — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. rest — a break
  9. last — to go on
  10. pop — music
  11. land — ground
  12. rest — what's left
  13. season — in sport
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. last — final
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. land — a country
  20. pop — soda
  21. rest — what's left
  22. march — the month
  23. racket — for tennis
  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