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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. net — in sport
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. net — for catching
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rest — a break
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a hole
  10. last — to go on
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spring — of water
  19. last — finally
  20. spring — the season
  21. last — final
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. rest — what's left
  24. net — after costs

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