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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. chair — a leader
  3. prune — to trim
  4. can — to be able to
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. row — a line
  7. can — a tin
  8. bore — to tire
  9. race — the arms race
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. prune — to trim
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. squash — the sport
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. race — humankind
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. can — a tin
  21. row — to paddle
  22. race — a contest
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bore — to drill

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