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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. game — wild animals
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mine — for digging
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. spring — of water
  19. craft — boats
  20. game — a match
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. spring — the season
  23. prune — to trim
  24. spring — a coil

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