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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — hasty
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. file — a line of people
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. tear — to rip
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. current — happening now
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. current — of water
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rash — a series
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. current — electric
  18. file — a document
  19. tear — from crying
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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