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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. prune — to trim
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. race — a contest
  6. dip — to sink
  7. mark — a trace
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. face — to point toward
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. face — part of the head
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mark — a grade
  18. race — humankind
  19. mine — for digging
  20. face — to confront
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chair — a leader
  23. race — the arms race
  24. prune — the fruit

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