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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cell — in biology
  4. last — final
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wound — an injury
  8. plane — a tool
  9. track — a song
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. last — finally
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bore — to drill
  15. last — to go on
  16. cell — a phone
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. track — a path
  24. plane — in geometry

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