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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. file — a document
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. snap — to click
  6. tear — from crying
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. present — the time now
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. staff — employees
  12. shower — to wash
  13. staff — a stick
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. staff — employees
  16. tear — to rip
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. file — a line of people
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. tear — from crying
  21. present — there
  22. present — a gift
  23. shower — rain
  24. file — a tool

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