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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mark — a trace
  3. root — of a word
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. squash — to crush
  6. fine — all right
  7. file — a tool
  8. last — to go on
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. file — a document
  12. root — of a plant
  13. last — final
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. root — the cause
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. fine — high quality
  21. mark — a grade
  22. last — finally
  23. squash — the sport
  24. kick — with a leg

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