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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 124 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. prune — to trim
  5. row — a line
  6. root — of a plant
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. prune — to trim
  14. root — of a word
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. rush — hurry
  20. root — the cause
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mine — for digging
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. mine — an explosive

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