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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  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. mate — to breed
  2. last — final
  3. staff — a stick
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. last — finally
  6. key — in music
  7. land — ground
  8. file — a document
  9. staff — employees
  10. land — a country
  11. last — to go on
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. mate — a friend
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. file — a tool
  20. land — to come down
  21. file — a line of people
  22. staff — employees
  23. mate — a partner
  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