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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — in cards
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wake — a trail
  6. hand — help
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. root — of a word
  9. prune — to trim
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. foot — a measure
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. root — the cause
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. root — of a plant
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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