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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. court — for sport
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. content — happy
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. lie — to recline
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. current — of water
  13. swing — music
  14. content — the amount
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. court — of law
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. chest — of your body
  22. court — of a king
  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