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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. present — a gift
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. present — the time now
  6. pop — music
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bulb — for light
  9. kick — in football
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pop — soda
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bulb — for light
  19. date — the fruit
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. present — there
  22. wound — an injury
  23. date — on the calendar
  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