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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. kick — in football
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. hand — help
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bulb — for light
  9. ground — a position
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — in cards
  14. tube — a container
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bulb — for light
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ground — the earth

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