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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. pop — to visit
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rock — a stone
  5. wound — an injury
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. last — final
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. lean — thin
  11. prune — to trim
  12. last — to go on
  13. pop — soda
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pop — music
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rock — music
  23. last — finally
  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