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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. row — a line
  3. cap — a hat
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. tear — to rip
  7. race — the arms race
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. current — electric
  10. tear — from crying
  11. land — ground
  12. ground — a position
  13. cap — a lid
  14. ground — the earth
  15. land — a country
  16. row — to paddle
  17. race — humankind
  18. ground — crushed
  19. land — to come down
  20. cap — of ice
  21. race — a contest
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. tear — from crying
  24. trunk — of a car

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