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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. date — the fruit
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. land — ground
  7. clip — for paper
  8. tear — from crying
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. rush — hurry
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. land — to come down
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — a country
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. clip — to cut

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