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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. band — a ring
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wind — moving air
  11. drill — a practice
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tear — from crying
  14. drill — army training
  15. rest — a break
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wind — moving air
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tear — to rip
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. trunk — of a tree

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