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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rule — a law
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. tear — to rip
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pit — a hole
  12. rule — government
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bound — certain
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pit — in a race
  24. rule — to rule out

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