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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. tear — to rip
  5. swing — in golf
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — to come from
  8. degree — temperature
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. swing — music
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bore — to drill
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bore — to tire
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cell — a phone
  23. degree — an amount
  24. swing — to play on

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