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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — in biology
  7. spring — the season
  8. net — in sport
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. march — music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. trunk — of a car

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