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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mine — for digging
  5. court — for sport
  6. march — music
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. last — final
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. kick — in football
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — electric
  20. current — of water
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. last — to go on
  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