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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. staff — employees
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. chest — a box
  6. last — final
  7. field — a subject
  8. rash — a series
  9. staff — a stick
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. chest — of your body
  13. last — to go on
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. staff — employees
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. last — finally
  18. field — farmland
  19. snap — to click
  20. band — a music group
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. band — a ring
  23. field — for sport
  24. chest — of your 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