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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. fall — the season
  3. drill — army training
  4. last — finally
  5. tear — to rip
  6. last — final
  7. row — a line
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fall — to drop
  13. drill — the tool
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. last — to go on
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pound — a weight
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. drill — a practice
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. tear — from crying

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