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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 120 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bear — the animal
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. root — of a word
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. root — the cause
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. root — of a plant
  14. clip — to cut
  15. spell — magic
  16. bear — the animal
  17. clip — a video
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. clip — for paper
  21. spell — a short time
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. perch — the fish
  24. spell — letters

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