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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bound — obliged
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cold — an illness
  8. tear — from crying
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bound — certain
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. game — a match
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bound — tied together
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. chest — a box
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wave — of the sea

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