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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. present — the time now
  7. season — of the year
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rush — hurry
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. present — a gift
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. present — there
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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