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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: row · wave · saw · club · march · tear · race · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. tear — from crying
  4. club — a group
  5. march — the month
  6. club — for dancing
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. club — for golf
  11. tear — from crying
  12. march — music
  13. tear — to rip
  14. row — to paddle
  15. race — humankind
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. race — a contest
  18. march — the month
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. race — the arms race
  23. saw — the tool
  24. row — a line

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