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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. court — of law
  4. race — the arms race
  5. plane — a tool
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. last — final
  9. court — of a king
  10. dip — to sink
  11. race — humankind
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. last — finally
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. wake — a trail
  16. last — to go on
  17. court — for sport
  18. race — a contest
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. plane — in geometry

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