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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. tear — to rip
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. court — for sport
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. track — to keep track
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. court — of law
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tear — from crying
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. track — a path
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. track — a song
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. tear — from crying
  23. court — of a king
  24. cabinet — ministers

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