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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. dip — to sink
  4. band — a music group
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pit — a hole
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. band — a ring
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. cap — a lid
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pit — in a race
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  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