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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: ruler · last · trunk · rest · lie · track · cold · land

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. land — to come down
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. track — to keep track
  9. last — final
  10. land — ground
  11. last — finally
  12. rest — a break
  13. lie — to recline
  14. track — a path
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rest — what's left
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cold — an illness
  20. track — a song
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. last — to go on
  23. land — a country
  24. ruler — a monarch

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