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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. prune — to trim
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. stock — goods
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — a subject
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. capital — a city
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. field — for sport
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. capital — money
  24. field — farmland

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