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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. last — finally
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. present — the time now
  6. court — for sport
  7. present — a gift
  8. cap — a lid
  9. court — of law
  10. cap — a hat
  11. court — of a king
  12. cap — of ice
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. present — there
  17. last — final
  18. roll — a list
  19. last — to go on
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. roll — a cake
  24. arm — part of the body

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