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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. race — humankind
  6. tear — from crying
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. race — a contest
  9. craft — boats
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. race — the arms race
  14. row — a line
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. deal — to handle
  19. toast — bread
  20. craft — a skill
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. row — to paddle
  23. tear — to rip
  24. patient — a sick person

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