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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: fork · mate · trunk · tear · hide · rest

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — a break
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. mate — to breed
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. mate — a partner
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left

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