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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. land — a country
  4. last — finally
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. fine — all right
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. land — ground
  11. pound — a weight
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. land — to come down
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. fine — high quality
  24. last — to go on

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