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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. ground — crushed
  3. tear — to rip
  4. shower — rain
  5. race — a contest
  6. ground — the earth
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. ball — a dance
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ground — a position
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bat — the animal
  17. shower — to wash
  18. ball — a great time
  19. charge — electricity
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. charge — a price
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. charge — in control
  24. race — humankind

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