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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. date — the fruit
  4. mark — a grade
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rest — a break
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. ball — a dance
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rest — what's left
  18. prune — to trim
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. mark — a trace
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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