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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: last · trunk · hand · lean · cabinet · foot · march · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. last — to go on
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. last — final
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. hand — help
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. march — the month
  12. lean — thin
  13. foot — a measure
  14. hand — in cards
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. last — finally
  24. lean — to rest against

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