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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. tear — from crying
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stand — to bear
  8. lean — thin
  9. date — the fruit
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. lean — to bend
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bear — the animal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bear — the animal
  21. tear — to rip
  22. net — after costs
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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