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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 · wind · last · file · object · pitch · content · trunk

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. file — a line of people
  3. last — final
  4. object — a thing
  5. content — happy
  6. object — an aim
  7. file — a document
  8. wind — moving air
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. content — the amount
  11. last — finally
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. file — a tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. foot — a measure
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. object — to protest
  23. last — to go on
  24. foot — part of the body

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