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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. hand — in cards
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. club — a group
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. field — a subject
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cap — of ice
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — for golf
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — farmland
  19. snap — to click
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. club — for dancing

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