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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: trunk · cold · pop · prune · object · mate · pass · ruler

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. object — a thing
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. pass — a permit
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. object — to protest
  16. mate — a friend
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. cold — an illness
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. prune — to trim
  22. object — an aim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — not warm

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