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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. rest — what's left
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rest — a break
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. last — finally
  9. spell — a short time
  10. last — final
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. spell — magic
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. last — to go on
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — in sport
  17. game — a match
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — for catching
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rest — what's left
  23. clip — for paper
  24. spell — letters

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