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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mine — for digging
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. rock — to move gently

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