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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. game — wild animals
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. court — of law
  5. wound — an injury
  6. game — a match
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. pass — a permit
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. court — for sport
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. last — finally
  22. prune — to trim
  23. court — of a king
  24. trunk — of a car

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