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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. clip — for paper
  8. land — to come down
  9. clip — a video
  10. tear — from crying
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. last — final
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. clip — to cut
  18. last — finally
  19. dip — to sink
  20. pit — a hole
  21. last — to go on
  22. pit — in a race
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. nail — for a hammer

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