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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. tear — from crying
  3. sharp — clever
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. clip — a video
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. degree — temperature
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. clip — for paper
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. clip — to cut
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. degree — an amount
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. deal — to handle
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. degree — from a university

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