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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. prune — to trim
  4. current — electric
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cell — a phone
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. season — in sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. hand — help
  13. season — of the year
  14. current — of water
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. hand — in cards
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. court — for sport
  19. current — happening now
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cell — in biology

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