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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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468
Word bank
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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. kick — in football
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. date — the fruit
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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