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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 120 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tube — a container
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. present — the time now
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. perch — the fish
  12. tear — from crying
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. present — there
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. tear — to rip
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bear — the animal
  22. present — a gift
  23. tear — from crying
  24. perch — for a bird

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