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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 · row · wax · jam · trunk · calf · fall · spring

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. row — a line
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. wax — to grow
  9. tear — to rip
  10. spring — a coil
  11. row — to paddle
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — of water
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. fall — the season
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. spring — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. fall — to drop
  24. calf — of the leg

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