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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 120 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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rock — a stone
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. land — to come down
  9. perch — the fish
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. tear — to rip
  12. land — a country
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cap — of ice
  15. tear — from crying
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rock — music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — for digging
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cap — a lid
  24. land — ground

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