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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. object — to protest
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — to go on
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bear — the animal
  8. season — of the year
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bear — the animal
  11. last — finally
  12. object — a thing
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. object — an aim
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. file — a tool
  21. season — in sport
  22. file — a document
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bear — to put up with

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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