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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — in cards
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. last — to go on
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. prune — to trim
  12. last — final
  13. bore — to drill
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. hand — help
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bore — to tire
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. last — finally
  24. wind — moving air

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