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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: bat · tear · prune · rest · temple · arm · bark · fan

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rest — what's left
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rest — a break
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bat — the animal
  24. tear — from crying

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