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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. march — music
  7. last — to go on
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cell — in biology
  10. chip — to eat
  11. charge — electricity
  12. march — the month
  13. last — finally
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — a phone
  17. chip — for betting
  18. charge — a price
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. charge — in control

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