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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. spell — magic
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — to visit
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. shower — rain
  8. pop — music
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — decided
  11. last — final
  12. firm — steady
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. shower — to wash
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. last — to go on
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. last — finally
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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