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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. rest — what's left
  3. track — to keep track
  4. land — ground
  5. track — a song
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rash — hasty
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. land — a country
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. rash — a series
  18. rest — a break
  19. track — a path
  20. land — to come down
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. leaves — 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