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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. last — finally
  3. rest — a break
  4. last — to go on
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. snap — to click
  8. cell — in biology
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. last — final
  16. fine — high quality
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. rest — what's left
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wake — a trail
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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