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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. field — a subject
  5. tear — from crying
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. field — farmland
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bulb — for light
  20. ball — a great time
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. ball — a dance
  24. field — for sport

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