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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: row · rule · wake · clip · trunk · game · mark · last

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. game — a match
  3. last — finally
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. mark — a grade
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wake — a trail
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. last — to go on
  16. rule — a law
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rule — government
  20. row — a line
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. clip — for paper
  24. last — final

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