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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. last — finally
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. fall — the season
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. content — the amount
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. prune — to trim
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. last — to go on
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. club — a group
  16. pass — a permit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. fall — to drop
  22. last — final
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. content — happy

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