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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. last — final
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cell — a phone
  5. season — in sport
  6. track — to keep track
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cell — in biology
  13. season — of the year
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. plane — a tool
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. deal — to handle
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. track — a song
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. track — a path

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