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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. squash — the sport
  5. staff — a stick
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. field — a subject
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. squash — to crush
  11. field — for sport
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. band — a ring
  14. staff — employees
  15. band — a music group
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. staff — employees
  21. field — farmland
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. tear — from crying

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