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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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. hide — animal skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. branch — a division
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. rash — a series
  9. capital — money
  10. degree — temperature
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — the underground
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — from a university
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. capital — a city
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hide — to keep secret

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