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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: pound · kick · face · capital · prune · tear · suit · trunk

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. suit — to fit
  3. kick — in football
  4. capital — money
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. face — to confront
  8. suit — in cards
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — to rip
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. suit — clothes
  14. face — part of the head
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. capital — a city
  20. face — to point toward
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. prune — to trim
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. prune — the fruit

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