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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. game — a match
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bass — the fish
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. craft — boats
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. game — wild animals
  21. craft — a skill
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. trunk — of a tree

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