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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — in a race
  5. present — a gift
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mug — to rob
  8. last — to go on
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. present — there
  11. mine — for digging
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. present — the time now
  15. mug — a cup
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. land — ground
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pit — a hole
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mug — a face
  24. hand — part of the 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