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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  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 car
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bear — the animal
  9. land — a country
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. land — to come down
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. kick — in football
  22. land — ground
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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