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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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. tear — to rip
  7. perch — the fish
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. file — a line of people
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. file — a document
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. swing — music
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. swing — in golf
  19. file — a tool
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. calf — of the leg

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