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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — of water
  3. hand — help
  4. spring — the season
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mate — a partner
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rash — a series
  14. tube — a container
  15. tear — to rip
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rash — hasty
  19. tube — the underground
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mate — a friend
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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