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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. can — to be able to
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wind — moving air
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. can — a tin
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rash — a series
  14. prune — to trim
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. prune — to trim
  24. trunk — of a tree

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