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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. tear — from crying
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fork — in a road
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. row — a line
  14. tube — a container
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. tear — to rip
  18. clip — to cut
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. tear — from crying
  22. clip — a video
  23. row — to paddle
  24. patient — a sick person

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