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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: lash · pitcher · tear · mine · perch · pound · stick · trunk

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mine — for digging
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tear — from crying
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tear — to rip
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. lash — an eyelash

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