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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. pop — music
  5. last — final
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pop — soda
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. land — ground
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pop — to visit
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. land — a country
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. squash — to crush
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. land — to come down
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. squash — the sport
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. wind — moving air

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