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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rest — a break
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. fall — to drop
  24. tear — from crying

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