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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. tear — to rip
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mine — for digging
  12. drill — army training
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. drill — the tool
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. file — a document
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. drill — a practice

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