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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spell — magic
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — certain
  7. field — farmland
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bulb — for light
  10. field — a subject
  11. spell — letters
  12. bulb — for light
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. field — for sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spell — a short time

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