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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: chest · tear · plane · date · calf · last · trunk · dip

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — to go on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. date — the fruit
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. last — final
  11. chest — a box
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. plane — a tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — to sink
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chest — of your body
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. last — finally

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