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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fall — to drop
  5. shower — rain
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a document
  9. fall — to drop
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. shower — to wash
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. chip — to eat
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. file — a tool
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. fall — the season

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