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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. court — of law
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. fine — all right
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. bat — the animal
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. court — for sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stem — to come from
  17. tear — to rip
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bulb — for light
  21. court — of a king
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stem — a stem cell

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