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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. current — of water
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. branch — a division
  9. current — happening now
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. net — in sport
  12. mark — a grade
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mark — a trace
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spell — magic
  21. tear — from crying
  22. current — electric
  23. tear — from crying
  24. net — after costs

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