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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cell — a phone
  4. spring — the season
  5. cell — in biology
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. prune — to trim
  8. drill — army training
  9. craft — a skill
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. deal — to handle
  14. spring — of water
  15. tear — from crying
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — a coil
  19. drill — the tool
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. drill — a practice
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. craft — boats

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