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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. last — finally
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. last — to go on
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bore — to drill
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. bore — to tire
  19. pass — a permit
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. spell — a short time
  22. last — final
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. trunk — of a tree

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