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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bass — the fish
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. content — the amount
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bass — low music
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. prune — to trim
  14. content — happy
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. prune — to trim
  18. track — a song
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. track — a path
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. content — videos and posts

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