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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: trunk · tear · cell · deal · snap · row · stick · perch

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cell — in biology
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. tear — to rip
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. snap — to click
  12. deal — to handle
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cell — a phone
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. row — a line
  24. perch — for a bird

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