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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. last — finally
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spell — magic
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. current — happening now
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spell — letters
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. current — of water
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. current — electric
  21. march — music
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. spell — a short time

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