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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. court — of a king
  3. lean — thin
  4. last — finally
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. swing — music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — to go on
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. lean — to bend
  12. ground — crushed
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. court — of law
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pop — to visit
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. last — final
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. court — for sport

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