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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. last — finally
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. file — a tool
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. kid — to tease
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — final
  13. rash — hasty
  14. last — to go on
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. kid — child
  17. file — a document
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. rash — a series
  22. mine — for digging
  23. saw — the tool
  24. file — a line of people

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