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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: trunk · kid · mouse · tear · content · race

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — humankind
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. kid — child
  6. content — the amount
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. race — a contest
  9. kid — to tease
  10. tear — to rip
  11. content — happy
  12. race — the arms race
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — 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