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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. last — to go on
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. last — final
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — to trim
  9. march — the month
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. field — for sport
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. field — farmland
  15. march — the month
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. prune — to trim
  18. last — finally
  19. current — happening now
  20. wind — moving air
  21. current — of water
  22. march — music
  23. field — a subject
  24. current — electric

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