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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. tear — from crying
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. band — a music group
  8. mark — a trace
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mine — for digging
  20. band — a ring
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. band — a rubber band

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