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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bat — the animal
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pop — soda
  21. root — the cause
  22. tear — from crying
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. pop — music

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