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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 116 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. snap — to click
  3. tear — from crying
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. tear — from crying
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. branch — a division
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. tear — to rip
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mine — for digging

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