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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 116 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 · wound · track · chip · cell · race · tear · bound

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bound — obliged
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bound — certain
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — a path
  10. chip — to eat
  11. race — humankind
  12. track — to keep track
  13. race — a contest
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. track — a song
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chip — for betting
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cell — a phone
  24. chip — in a computer

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