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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. tear — from crying
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. tear — from crying
  7. object — to protest
  8. court — of a king
  9. spell — a short time
  10. court — of law
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. spell — magic
  13. file — a document
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — a thing
  16. file — a tool
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tear — to rip
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. court — for sport
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spell — letters

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