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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. prune — to trim
  5. land — ground
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. mine — for digging
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. field — a subject
  13. land — a country
  14. field — farmland
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. land — to come down
  23. field — for sport
  24. leaves — lets stay

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