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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. court — for sport
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bat — the animal
  6. court — of law
  7. wound — an injury
  8. prune — to trim
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. scale — in music
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. court — of a king
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — a subject
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. field — farmland
  20. suit — to fit
  21. field — for sport
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. suit — clothes
  24. trunk — of a car

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