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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. kick — in football
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rash — hasty
  17. date — the fruit
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. rash — a series
  21. tear — from crying
  22. foot — a measure
  23. chest — of your body
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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