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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bass — low music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spell — letters
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. deal — to handle
  16. prune — to trim
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bass — the fish
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. perch — the fish
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. temple — side of the head

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