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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. tear — from crying
  3. saw — the tool
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — ground
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. land — a country
  19. tear — to rip
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. degree — from a university
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pitch — completely

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