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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. field — a subject
  5. swing — in golf
  6. deal — to handle
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. kid — to tease
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. prune — to trim
  16. swing — music
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. kid — child
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. swing — to play on

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