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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: season · roll · file · staff · tear · trunk · rest · kick

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. rest — a break
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. tear — from crying
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. roll — a list
  10. tear — from crying
  11. staff — a stick
  12. file — a tool
  13. kick — in football
  14. season — of the year
  15. staff — employees
  16. roll — a cake
  17. file — a document
  18. rest — what's left
  19. season — in sport
  20. file — a line of people
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. staff — employees
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rest — what's left

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