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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. date — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mug — a cup
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mug — to rob
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. prune — to trim
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. perch — the fish
  24. mug — a face

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