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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. charge — electricity
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. field — farmland
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. field — for sport
  9. clip — to cut
  10. charge — in control
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. last — finally
  15. clip — a video
  16. field — a subject
  17. fork — in a road
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. charge — a price
  20. last — final
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. trunk — of a tree

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