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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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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 · wake · last · kick · ruler · mate · season · wind

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. last — final
  3. wake — a trail
  4. mate — a partner
  5. season — of the year
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mate — a friend
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kick — in football
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. season — in sport
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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