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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: racket · tube · net · cold · file · tear · race · trunk

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. file — a line of people
  5. net — in sport
  6. cold — not warm
  7. tear — to rip
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. file — a tool
  10. net — after costs
  11. tear — from crying
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cold — an illness
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tube — a container
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. net — for catching
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. race — a contest
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. tube — the underground

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