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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — to rip
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bat — the animal
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cell — a phone
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. cell — in biology
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — a country
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. perch — the fish
  20. land — to come down
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. land — ground
  23. tear — from crying
  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