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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. ball — a great time
  3. present — the time now
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. present — a gift
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. present — there
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ball — a dance
  20. mine — for digging
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. prune — to trim
  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