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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. court — of law
  13. fall — the season
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tear — to rip
  16. craft — a skill
  17. tear — from crying
  18. court — of a king
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cell — in biology
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. court — for sport
  23. fall — to drop
  24. craft — boats

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