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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: temple · tear · nail · capital · trunk · bear · chest · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bear — the animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. capital — money
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. capital — a city
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tear — to rip
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. temple — a place of worship

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