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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cold — not warm
  3. craft — boats
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. rule — a law
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — there
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. present — the time now
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. prune — to trim
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. cold — an illness
  20. prune — to trim
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rule — government
  24. arm — part of the body

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