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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — of water
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. last — finally
  10. current — electric
  11. last — to go on
  12. club — for dancing
  13. staff — employees
  14. last — final
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cell — in biology
  17. club — for golf
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. staff — employees
  20. club — a group
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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