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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. press — a publisher
  4. court — of a king
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bulb — for light
  8. capital — a city
  9. press — newspapers
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. prune — to trim
  13. press — to push
  14. last — finally
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. last — final
  17. prune — to trim
  18. court — of law
  19. bulb — for light
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. last — to go on
  22. capital — money
  23. foot — a measure
  24. court — for sport

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