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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: mine · rest · fine · trunk · straw · chip · field · wake

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. fine — all right
  5. chip — for betting
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fine — high quality
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mine — for digging
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rest — a break
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. chip — to eat
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rest — what's left
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. field — for sport

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