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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spell — magic
  5. band — a music group
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. chest — a box
  11. foot — a measure
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. march — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — the month
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tear — to rip
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. tear — from crying
  22. band — a ring
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. march — the month

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