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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. swing — to play on
  3. last — final
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. season — of the year
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. last — finally
  13. mine — for digging
  14. season — in sport
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. leaves — of a tree

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