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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kid — child
  4. last — finally
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. last — to go on
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. last — final
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wound — an injury
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. track — to keep track
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. cell — a phone
  23. track — a path
  24. trunk — of a tree

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