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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. key — the most important part
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. land — ground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. last — final
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cell — in biology
  13. tube — a container
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wound — an injury
  16. key — in music
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cell — a phone
  19. land — a country
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. mate — to breed
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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