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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. march — the month
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pit — in a race
  6. saw — the tool
  7. last — final
  8. staff — employees
  9. cap — a lid
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. last — to go on
  13. saw — the tool
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. staff — employees
  19. bark — to shout
  20. staff — a stick
  21. cap — a hat
  22. march — music
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pit — a hole

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