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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. track — to keep track
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. track — a song
  6. chair — a leader
  7. land — ground
  8. race — a contest
  9. rest — what's left
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. land — a country
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. track — a path
  15. land — to come down
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — the arms race
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. last — final

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