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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tube — the underground
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. track — to keep track
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bear — the animal
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bear — the animal
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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