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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rush — hurry
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. current — of water
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bat — the animal
  14. current — electric
  15. current — happening now
  16. branch — a division
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. shower — rain
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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