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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: ground · mine · trunk · rest · bat · firm · wake · ruler

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. rest — what's left
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. firm — decided
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bat — the animal
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. firm — steady
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. firm — a company
  14. ground — a position
  15. rest — a break
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. mine — for digging
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. ruler — for measuring

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