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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: hand · calf · pit · cell · pop · tear · trunk · kid

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. pop — music
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. hand — in cards
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pop — soda
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pit — a hole
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tear — to rip
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pit — in a race
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pop — to visit

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