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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. swing — music
  3. lean — thin
  4. chest — of your body
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. swing — to play on
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — to bend
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chest — a box
  16. ground — a position
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ground — crushed
  20. swing — in golf
  21. land — a country
  22. prune — to trim
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. ground — the earth

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