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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pop — to visit
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. hand — in cards
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pop — music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. pop — soda
  19. hand — help
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. game — a match

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