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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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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: trunk · board · last · ruler · wake · cold · foot · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cold — an illness
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. last — final
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. last — finally
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. board — a committee
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. squash — to crush
  22. last — to go on
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. board — to get 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