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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: calf · race · patient · file · trunk · drill · shower · bound

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. drill — a practice
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. file — a tool
  6. race — a contest
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. race — humankind
  12. bound — tied together
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. drill — army training
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. shower — rain
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bound — obliged
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bound — certain
  24. race — the arms race

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