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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 116 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: fine · last · ground · mate · wake · plane · trunk · file

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. ground — the earth
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. file — a document
  11. last — finally
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wake — a trail
  15. fine — high quality
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. file — a line of people
  19. ground — crushed
  20. file — a tool
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. ground — a position

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