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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 116 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pound — a weight
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. charge — electricity
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. shower — to wash
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. charge — in control
  20. net — for catching
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. charge — a price
  24. shower — rain

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