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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: club · trunk · pit · season · wind · bore · last · mate

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — finally
  4. mate — a partner
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pit — in a race
  11. club — a group
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mate — to breed
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bore — to tire
  19. club — for golf
  20. bore — to drill
  21. club — for dancing
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. last — to go on
  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