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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. rest — what's left
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pop — to visit
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. last — to go on
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. last — final
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rest — a break
  15. last — finally
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. rest — what's left
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. plane — a tool

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