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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 120 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. prune — to trim
  8. key — the most important part
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. key — for a lock
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pit — a hole
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — in a race
  20. tear — to rip
  21. key — in music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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