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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. track — a song
  3. prune — to trim
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cell — a phone
  11. shower — to wash
  12. track — to keep track
  13. shower — rain
  14. track — a path
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. straw — dry grass

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