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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. tear — to rip
  5. race — the arms race
  6. shower — to wash
  7. race — humankind
  8. shower — rain
  9. bore — to tire
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lean — thin
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bore — to drill
  20. tear — from crying
  21. current — happening now
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. race — a contest

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