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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rest — what's left
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. wake — a trail
  8. club — for dancing
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rest — what's left
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. club — for golf
  15. deal — to handle
  16. club — a group
  17. drill — army training
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rest — a break
  22. date — the fruit
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. date — on the calendar

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