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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. spring — of water
  4. rock — a stone
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. last — to go on
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rash — hasty
  15. file — a document
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. last — finally
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. rash — a series
  20. wake — a trail
  21. spring — the season
  22. file — a tool
  23. rock — music
  24. spring — a coil

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