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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chest — a box
  3. pop — to visit
  4. root — the cause
  5. present — the time now
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. race — humankind
  9. root — of a plant
  10. race — a contest
  11. present — there
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. present — a gift
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pop — music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. scale — size or range
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. chest — of your body
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. root — of a word

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