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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 · mouse · file · bear · rule · snap · tear · coach

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. file — a tool
  6. bear — the animal
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bear — the animal
  9. snap — to click
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. file — a document
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — a law
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. coach — a trainer

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