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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. root — the cause
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — to trim
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. press — newspapers
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. press — a publisher
  14. court — of a king
  15. root — of a word
  16. court — of law
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. press — to push

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