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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. last — final
  3. season — in sport
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. ball — a great time
  6. last — finally
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. content — happy
  10. last — to go on
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. content — the amount
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. ball — a dance

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