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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. swing — to play on
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bear — the animal
  8. squash — the sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. swing — in golf
  11. charge — electricity
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. kid — child
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mine — for digging
  16. charge — a price
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. kid — to tease
  19. charge — in control
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. squash — to crush
  22. swing — music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. trunk — of a tree

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