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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. face — to confront
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. face — to point toward
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wound — an injury
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. content — happy
  17. prune — to trim
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. content — the amount
  23. pound — a weight
  24. prune — the fruit

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