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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. kid — to tease
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mark — a grade
  5. lie — to recline
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kid — child
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cold — not warm
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. foot — a measure
  20. mark — a trace
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wake — a trail

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