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

Word bank: bass · trunk · kick · bat · tear · cell

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. cell — a phone
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bass — the fish
  9. kick — in football
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bass — low music
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bat — in an idiom

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