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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · straw · rash · wake · march · file · spell · root

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. march — the month
  7. file — a document
  8. spell — letters
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. root — of a word
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. root — of a plant
  13. file — a line of people
  14. march — music
  15. root — the cause
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. spell — magic
  20. rash — a series
  21. file — a tool
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. march — the month
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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