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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: prune · leaves · chest · present · bat · rush · jam · foot

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. foot — a measure
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. present — there
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. rush — hurry
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. present — the time now
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. present — a gift

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