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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pit — a hole
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. last — final
  10. pit — in a race
  11. season — in sport
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rule — a law
  14. branch — a division
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. rule — government
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. season — of the year
  23. mine — for digging
  24. last — finally

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