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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 116 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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. spring — the season
  3. last — final
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. last — finally
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — a hint
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. last — to go on
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. tear — from crying
  18. band — a ring
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cue — for pool
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. tear — to rip
  24. spring — of water

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