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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: mate · wake · saw · ball · foot · trunk · last · kid

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. foot — a measure
  6. last — finally
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. mate — to breed
  12. ball — a dance
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mate — a friend
  15. last — to go on
  16. ball — a great time
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. kid — child
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mate — a partner
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. kid — to tease

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