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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — ground
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rest — a break
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cap — a hat
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. land — to come down
  16. tear — to rip
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. chair — a leader
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cap — of ice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. land — a country
  24. cap — a lid

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