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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. file — a document
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. ball — a dance
  15. file — a line of people
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. ball — a great time
  21. fall — the season
  22. tear — to rip
  23. branch — a division
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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