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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. tear — from crying
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rock — music
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. band — a ring
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. content — happy
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rock — a stone
  17. spell — magic
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. tear — from crying
  21. content — the amount
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. spell — letters

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