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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: nail · perch · mark · pass · game · trunk · present · tear

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. present — a gift
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — wild animals
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. mark — a trace
  8. game — a match
  9. present — the time now
  10. pass — a permit
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. present — there
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mark — a grade
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. perch — the fish

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