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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spell — magic
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. shower — rain
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. spell — letters
  16. rock — a stone
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wake — a trail
  19. race — a contest
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. chair — a leader
  22. race — humankind
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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