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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fork — in a road
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. ground — a position
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mine — belonging to me

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