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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pitch — completely
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. court — of law
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. court — for sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. swing — music
  24. straw — a straw man

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