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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. staff — employees
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. staff — a stick
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. rash — hasty
  10. face — to point toward
  11. squash — to crush
  12. staff — employees
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. prune — to trim
  19. face — part of the head
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. face — to confront
  22. squash — the sport
  23. date — on the calendar
  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