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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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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. race — a contest
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. prune — to trim
  5. race — the arms race
  6. suit — to fit
  7. bark — to shout
  8. suit — clothes
  9. face — to confront
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. file — a tool
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. suit — in cards
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. file — a document
  20. prune — to trim
  21. race — humankind
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. face — part of the head
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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