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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. tear — from crying
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — to rip
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. chest — of your body
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wax — to grow
  13. capital — money
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. capital — a city
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. stem — to come from
  23. chest — a box
  24. capital — a big letter

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