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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — the earth
  4. roll — a cake
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. land — to come down
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. prune — to trim
  9. ground — a position
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. land — a country
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. ground — crushed
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. land — ground
  19. roll — a list
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rush — hurry
  24. tear — to rip

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