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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to click
  3. squash — to crush
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pop — to visit
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. file — a tool
  11. cell — a phone
  12. file — a line of people
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — the sport
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. pop — soda
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. prune — to trim
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pop — music
  24. file — a document

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