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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. can — a tin
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bound — certain
  11. tube — the underground
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. file — a tool
  16. tube — a container
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. can — to be able to
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bound — obliged
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. can — a tin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bound — tied together

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