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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hand — in cards
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bound — tied together
  11. tear — to rip
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. hand — help
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stock — goods
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bound — certain
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bound — obliged
  23. stock — shares
  24. prune — to trim

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