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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · cell · craft · perch · trunk · rock

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rock — music
  3. cell — a phone
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a skill
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cell — in biology
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. craft — boats
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rock — a stone

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