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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. bear — the animal
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cold — not warm
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. spell — magic
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fine — all right
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fine — high quality
  22. tear — from crying
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bear — the animal

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