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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. staff — a stick
  5. mine — for digging
  6. can — a tin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. file — a line of people
  9. tear — to rip
  10. staff — employees
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. file — a document
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bark — to shout
  17. lean — to bend
  18. can — a tin
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. lean — thin
  21. file — a tool
  22. staff — employees
  23. can — to be able to
  24. trunk — of a tree

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