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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cell — in biology
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. dip — to sink
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. band — a ring
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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