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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. date — the fruit
  3. ground — crushed
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. last — finally
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. row — to paddle
  10. key — the most important part
  11. season — of the year
  12. ground — a position
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. sharp — clever
  15. last — to go on
  16. season — in sport
  17. key — for a lock
  18. row — a line
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. key — in music
  21. last — final
  22. ground — the earth
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. row — a quarrel

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