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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. can — a tin
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. clip — a video
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. prune — to trim
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. field — farmland
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. can — to be able to
  20. clip — to cut
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. clip — for paper
  23. march — the month
  24. can — a tin

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