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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 120 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mine — for digging
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — to tease
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kid — child
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. tear — to rip

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