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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tube — a container
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. march — the month
  7. rule — government
  8. object — a thing
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. object — an aim
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. rule — a law
  13. tear — to rip
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. march — music
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — the month
  24. lash — an eyelash

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