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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pop · rest · prune · race · deal · roll · land · trunk

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. rest — a break
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. land — ground
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. land — a country
  10. roll — a cake
  11. race — a contest
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. pop — soda
  14. race — humankind
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. race — the arms race
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. land — to come down
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. rest — what's left
  21. deal — to handle
  22. prune — to trim
  23. roll — a list
  24. rest — what's left

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