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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. snap — to click
  6. bat — the animal
  7. prune — to trim
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. prune — to trim
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. last — finally
  21. tube — the underground
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. pound — a weight
  24. calf — a young animal

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