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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. track — a song
  10. court — of law
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. prune — to trim
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. court — of a king
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. court — for sport
  24. clip — for paper

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