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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 120 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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. tube — a container
  5. squash — the sport
  6. spring — the season
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — for sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — a coil
  12. field — a subject
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. spring — of water
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. field — farmland
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. rush — hurry
  24. tube — the underground

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