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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cap — a lid
  5. tear — from crying
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. kid — to tease
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. tear — to rip
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. rule — a law
  12. craft — a skill
  13. staff — employees
  14. degree — from a university
  15. staff — employees
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cap — of ice
  19. kid — child
  20. cap — a hat
  21. degree — an amount
  22. craft — boats
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. rule — government

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