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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. net — in sport
  2. tear — to rip
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. court — of a king
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. object — a thing
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. object — to protest
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. tear — from crying
  11. object — an aim
  12. plane — a tool
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. court — of law
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. court — for sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  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