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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. tear — to rip
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. row — a line
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. row — to paddle
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. kick — in football
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. hand — help
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. last — finally
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — child

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