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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: last · kick · root · ground · trunk · bass · wind · wound

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wound — an injury
  7. root — the cause
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. kick — in football
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bass — the fish
  12. last — finally
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wind — moving air
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. root — of a word
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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