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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. object — to protest
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wound — an injury
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. object — an aim
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. present — there
  16. chair — a leader
  17. cell — in biology
  18. present — the time now
  19. fork — in a road
  20. present — a gift
  21. cell — a phone
  22. prune — to trim
  23. object — a thing
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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