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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. last — final
  3. chest — of your body
  4. suit — to fit
  5. last — to go on
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. staff — employees
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. last — finally
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chest — a box
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. suit — in cards
  22. suit — clothes
  23. file — a tool
  24. staff — a stick

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