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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · pound · race · bat · mine · trunk · row · last

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. last — final
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. race — a contest
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. race — humankind
  8. pound — a weight
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. race — the arms race
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. row — a line
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. last — finally
  18. foot — a measure
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bat — for baseball
  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