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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. court — for sport
  4. chest — of your body
  5. season — of the year
  6. court — of law
  7. rash — hasty
  8. deal — to handle
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. prune — to trim
  17. track — a path
  18. court — of a king
  19. track — to keep track
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. chest — a box
  22. season — in sport
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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