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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. squash — the sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — finally
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. rush — hurry
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chest — a box
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. last — final
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. last — to go on
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. date — the fruit
  20. chip — to eat
  21. squash — to crush
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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