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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. last — to go on
  3. face — to confront
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. chest — of your body
  11. club — for dancing
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. club — a group
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — to point toward
  20. tube — a container
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chest — a box
  23. club — for golf
  24. tube — the underground

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