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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. track — to keep track
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bulb — for light
  6. season — in sport
  7. track — a path
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. track — a song
  10. season — of the year
  11. cell — in biology
  12. prune — to trim
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lean — thin
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bulb — for light
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. cold — not warm
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cell — a phone

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