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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 120 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fall — to drop
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tear — to rip
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. chest — a box
  12. tear — from crying
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. degree — an amount
  17. snap — to click
  18. fall — the season
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bank — of a river
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. row — a line
  24. fall — to drop

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