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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. key — for a lock
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. hand — help
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. squash — the sport
  12. key — the most important part
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ball — a dance
  18. hand — in cards
  19. key — in music
  20. ball — a great time
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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