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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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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: toast · trunk · mate · hand · stick · race · net · ground

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. toast — bread
  3. mate — a friend
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. net — in sport
  7. race — the arms race
  8. net — for catching
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mate — to breed
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. ground — a position
  13. race — a contest
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mate — a partner
  17. ground — crushed
  18. hand — help
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. race — humankind
  21. net — after costs
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. ground — the earth
  24. toast — the most admired

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