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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. prune — to trim
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cell — a phone
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cell — in biology
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. spring — of water
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. spring — the season
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. snap — to click

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