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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 124 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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rock — a stone
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. file — a tool
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. file — a document
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. scale — size or range
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rock — music
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. scale — in music
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. tear — to rip
  24. file — a line of people

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