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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: toast · tear · branch · trunk · hide · key · season · chest

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. chest — a box
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — a division
  10. key — in music
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chest — of your body
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. tear — to rip
  18. season — of the year
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. season — in sport
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. key — the most important part

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