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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. court — of law
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. wake — a trail
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. snap — to click
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. court — of a king
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. march — music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. court — for sport
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. prune — to trim

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