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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. trunk — of a tree
  2. charge — a price
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. pop — music
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. club — for golf
  7. tear — from crying
  8. charge — in control
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — to visit
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. club — a group
  14. charge — electricity
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. tear — from crying
  18. club — for dancing
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. tear — to rip
  22. file — a tool
  23. trunk — of a car
  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