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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. last — to go on
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. last — final
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pitch — completely
  15. present — the time now
  16. last — finally
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. present — there

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