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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. kid — child
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. root — of a word
  6. pitch — completely
  7. root — the cause
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. race — the arms race
  11. kid — to tease
  12. race — a contest
  13. squash — to crush
  14. file — a line of people
  15. root — of a plant
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. race — humankind
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. file — a document
  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