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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. court — for sport
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. staff — a stick
  8. court — of law
  9. ground — a position
  10. staff — employees
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pop — music
  15. ground — the earth
  16. capital — money
  17. staff — employees
  18. pop — to visit
  19. capital — a city
  20. pop — soda
  21. ground — crushed
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. court — of a king
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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