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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. field — a subject
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. file — a document
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. swing — music
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bore — to tire
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. file — a line of people
  15. swing — in golf
  16. last — finally
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. roll — a list
  19. bore — to drill
  20. roll — a cake
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. swing — to play on
  23. file — a tool
  24. bore — gave birth

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