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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. content — happy
  8. net — in sport
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. net — for catching
  12. lie — to recline
  13. last — finally
  14. bound — obliged
  15. content — the amount
  16. net — after costs
  17. bound — tied together
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — a leader
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bound — certain

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