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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rest — what's left
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. land — a country
  6. rest — a break
  7. prune — to trim
  8. land — ground
  9. prune — to trim
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. field — for sport
  13. rest — what's left
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. content — the amount
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. field — farmland
  19. content — happy
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. scale — in music
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. field — a subject
  24. nail — for a hammer

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