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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: trunk · deal · lie · band · tear · root · hand · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. root — the cause
  3. band — a ring
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. hand — help
  6. tear — from crying
  7. deal — to handle
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. lie — to recline
  10. root — of a word
  11. hand — in cards
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. root — of a plant
  18. tear — to rip
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — to paddle
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of a tree

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