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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. last — finally
  3. track — a path
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. rest — a break
  6. track — a song
  7. land — to come down
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. land — a country
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rest — what's left
  13. land — ground
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rush — hurry
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. last — to go on
  23. track — to keep track
  24. last — final

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