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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — to shout
  5. charge — a price
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. clip — for paper
  8. march — the month
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. chest — a box
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. march — music
  16. charge — electricity
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chest — of your body
  21. charge — in control
  22. clip — a video
  23. march — the month
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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