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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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 — final
  2. land — a country
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. row — to paddle
  6. last — to go on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. club — for golf
  9. land — to come down
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. club — for dancing
  15. land — ground
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cell — in biology
  18. last — finally
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cell — a phone
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. club — a group
  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