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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. march — the month
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. march — the month
  12. prune — to trim
  13. root — of a word
  14. cue — a signal
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stock — goods
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stock — shares
  19. cue — for pool
  20. wax — to grow
  21. root — the cause
  22. march — music
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. root — of a plant

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