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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 116 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: present · saw · row · swing · tear · stand · mine · trunk

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. swing — to play on
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. tear — to rip
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — a line
  9. tear — from crying
  10. present — there
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. swing — music
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. mine — for digging
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. swing — in golf
  23. saw — the tool
  24. row — a quarrel

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