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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: lean · cold · lash · march · pit · trunk · spell · last

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. march — music
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lean — thin
  9. spell — letters
  10. last — final
  11. march — the month
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. spell — magic
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pit — a hole
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spell — a short time
  21. last — to go on
  22. pit — in a race
  23. last — finally
  24. march — the month

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