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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. spell — magic
  6. land — to come down
  7. tear — to rip
  8. lean — to bend
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spell — a short time
  12. lean — thin
  13. bulb — for light
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. spell — letters
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. land — a country
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — to lash out
  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