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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pop — soda
  5. spell — magic
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. tear — to rip
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bass — the fish
  16. spell — letters
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pop — music
  20. bass — low music
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. spell — a short time
  23. tear — from crying
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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