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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. race — a contest
  3. lie — to recline
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. prune — to trim
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. content — happy
  14. land — to come down
  15. content — the amount
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — a weight
  20. land — ground
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. land — a country
  23. race — humankind
  24. mate — a partner

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