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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 120 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: safe · bark · cold · capital · trunk · prune · face · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — money
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — not warm
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bark — to shout
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. face — to point toward
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. capital — a city
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. safe — a strongbox

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