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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 116 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. spell — a short time
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mate — to breed
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. prune — to trim
  9. scale — in music
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. spell — letters
  14. scale — size or range
  15. spell — magic
  16. dip — to sink
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cap — of ice
  19. mate — a partner
  20. cap — a hat
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. branch — a division
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cap — a lid

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