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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. track — a song
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. snap — to click
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. track — to keep track
  11. land — to come down
  12. track — a path
  13. root — of a plant
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. last — final
  19. root — the cause
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. root — of a word
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. foot — a measure

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