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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. chest — a box
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. prune — to trim
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bound — obliged
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mine — for digging
  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