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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. content — the amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. charge — electricity
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. content — happy
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fall — to drop
  15. charge — in control
  16. game — wild animals
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. spell — a short time
  20. fall — the season
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. charge — a price

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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