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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. capital — money
  5. row — to paddle
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tube — the underground
  11. row — a line
  12. tube — a container
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. craft — a skill
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. capital — a city
  24. craft — boats

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