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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. last — final
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cold — not warm
  6. last — finally
  7. deal — to handle
  8. ground — a position
  9. club — a group
  10. last — to go on
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. tear — from crying
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. club — for golf
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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