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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. cell — a phone
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wound — an injury
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rock — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. field — farmland
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. cell — in biology
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. trunk — of a tree

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