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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. last — finally
  3. march — the month
  4. court — of law
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. march — the month
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. last — final
  12. court — of a king
  13. march — music
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. court — for sport
  16. pound — a weight
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. last — to go on
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. file — a tool
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. nail — for a hammer

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