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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. field — for sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. field — a subject
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. kid — child
  11. object — to protest
  12. tear — to rip
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. object — a thing
  15. field — farmland
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. object — an aim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. tear — from crying
  23. prune — to trim
  24. fan — a supporter

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