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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. spell — a short time
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. charge — a price
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. charge — electricity
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. plane — a tool
  10. game — a match
  11. spell — letters
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. spell — magic
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. wound — an injury
  20. charge — in control
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wound — an injury
  24. plane — an aircraft

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