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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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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pit — in a race
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. snap — to click
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. file — a document
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fine — high quality
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pit — a hole
  18. file — a line of people
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. fine — all right
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. file — a tool

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