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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: tear · hide · row · mine · branch · trunk · dip · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. mine — for digging
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. present — there
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. branch — a division
  11. tear — to rip
  12. present — the time now
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. dip — to sink
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. row — a line
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. hide — to keep secret

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