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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. fall — the season
  4. saw — the tool
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. mate — a friend
  7. roll — a cake
  8. saw — the tool
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mate — a partner
  16. land — ground
  17. roll — a list
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. land — a country
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mate — to breed
  23. last — to go on
  24. land — to come down

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