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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. root — the cause
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. craft — boats
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. root — of a word
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. spell — letters
  14. tear — to rip
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pop — soda
  17. spell — magic
  18. lean — to bend
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pop — to visit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pop — music
  24. spell — a short time

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