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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. wound — an injury
  3. snap — to click
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. file — a document
  7. root — of a plant
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. mate — a friend
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. root — of a word
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. file — a line of people
  18. root — the cause
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. file — a tool
  24. mate — a partner

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