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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. mug — to rob
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. march — the month
  5. hand — in cards
  6. date — the fruit
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. hand — help
  11. spring — the season
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. march — music
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mug — a face
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pop — soda
  18. march — the month
  19. mug — a cup
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spring — a coil
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. spring — of water
  24. prune — to trim

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