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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 124 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. tear — from crying
  4. file — a document
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chip — to eat
  9. spring — of water
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. tear — to rip
  15. chip — for betting
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. spring — the season
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. fork — in a road
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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