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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pop — soda
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. mug — a cup
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. prune — to trim
  18. root — the cause
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. cold — not warm
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. mug — to rob

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