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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a grade
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. last — final
  6. hand — in cards
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rash — a series
  10. dip — to sink
  11. hand — help
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — a measure
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. rash — hasty
  21. last — to go on
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. last — finally
  24. mark — a trace

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