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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: trunk · last · hand · bear · tear · bulb · branch · kid

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kid — child
  3. tear — from crying
  4. last — final
  5. branch — a division
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bulb — for light
  12. last — to go on
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. hand — in cards
  19. kid — to tease
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tear — to rip
  24. hand — help

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