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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. prune — to trim
  3. present — a gift
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pop — music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. present — there
  9. pop — to visit
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. kick — in football
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. prune — to trim
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pop — soda

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