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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mine — for digging
  7. shower — to wash
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. race — humankind
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — a contest
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. season — in sport
  19. shower — rain
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. race — the arms race
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tube — a container
  24. season — of the year

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