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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mate — a partner
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. race — humankind
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mate — a friend
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cell — in biology
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bear — the animal
  23. mate — to breed
  24. race — a contest

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