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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 116 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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. squash — the sport
  5. file — a document
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rush — hurry
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. lean — to bend
  12. tear — from crying
  13. race — humankind
  14. tear — to rip
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. squash — to crush
  18. race — a contest
  19. lean — thin
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. file — a tool
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. shower — rain
  24. race — the arms race

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