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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. roll — a cake
  6. game — wild animals
  7. present — there
  8. game — a match
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. present — a gift
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. roll — a list
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fall — the season
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. fall — to drop
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fall — to drop
  23. present — the time now
  24. trunk — of a car

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