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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 116 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. file — a document
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pop — soda
  6. last — final
  7. kick — in football
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pop — music
  11. race — humankind
  12. wake — a trail
  13. race — a contest
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pop — to visit
  16. last — to go on
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. last — finally
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. file — a tool
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. racket — for tennis

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