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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bound — tied together
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. rest — a break
  7. last — to go on
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bound — obliged
  10. last — finally
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. drill — army training
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. last — final
  17. scale — in music
  18. drill — a practice
  19. rest — what's left
  20. net — for catching
  21. scale — size or range
  22. net — after costs
  23. bound — certain
  24. chip — for betting

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