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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. pass — a permit
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mine — for digging
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. swing — music
  12. content — happy
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. root — of a plant
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bass — low music
  18. content — the amount
  19. bass — the fish
  20. root — the cause
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. swing — in golf
  23. root — of a word
  24. wind — to turn a key

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