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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bank — of a river
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. field — for sport
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bank — for money
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. tear — to rip
  10. sharp — clever
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. field — a subject
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. spring — a coil
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. spring — of water
  17. bank — for money
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — the season
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tear — from crying
  23. field — farmland
  24. nail — for a hammer

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