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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wound — an injury
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. swing — music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. last — finally
  20. swing — to play on
  21. game — a match
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wound — an injury

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