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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: trunk · branch · cold · tear · arm · hide · swing · jam

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. swing — music
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — not warm
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. tear — to rip
  16. branch — a division
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cold — an illness
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. tear — from crying
  21. swing — to play on
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. arm — part of the body

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