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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: current · file · snap · trunk · rash · swing · tear · fall

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. fall — the season
  3. snap — to click
  4. current — of water
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. file — a tool
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. swing — music
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. current — electric
  12. tear — from crying
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tear — from crying
  16. file — a document
  17. current — happening now
  18. swing — to play on
  19. tear — to rip
  20. swing — in golf
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. file — a line of people
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rash — hasty

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