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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. rush — hurry
  4. mate — to breed
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. prune — to trim
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. land — ground
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. land — a country
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. land — to come down
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. trunk — of a car
  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