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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. hand — in cards
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. last — finally
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. last — to go on
  16. ball — a dance
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. last — final
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. stand — to bear

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