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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: spring · foot · tear · racket · root · file · trunk · perch

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. tear — to rip
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. file — a document
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. perch — the fish
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tear — from crying
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. foot — a measure
  14. spring — of water
  15. file — a line of people
  16. root — of a plant
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. file — a tool
  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