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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 124 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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. suit — clothes
  11. race — the arms race
  12. spell — magic
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. spell — a short time
  18. tear — from crying
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. spell — letters
  21. tear — to rip
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. suit — in cards
  24. bat — the animal

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