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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. fall — to drop
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ground — crushed
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fall — the season
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. roll — a cake
  9. ground — the earth
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fall — to drop
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. tear — from crying
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. roll — a list
  18. ground — a position
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. vault — a safe

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