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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. prune — to trim
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. file — a tool
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rest — a break
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rest — what's left
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wake — a trail
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. prune — to trim
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. branch — a division

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