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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — happy
  4. last — final
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. mate — a friend
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. content — the amount
  15. mate — a partner
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mate — to breed
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. last — to go on
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. last — finally
  24. tear — to rip

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