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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. club — a group
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wind — moving air
  9. degree — from a university
  10. club — for dancing
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. present — a gift
  13. clip — a video
  14. degree — an amount
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. club — for golf
  17. clip — to cut
  18. present — there
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. present — the time now
  22. degree — temperature
  23. prune — to trim
  24. trunk — of a car

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