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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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Word bank
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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: file · ruler · rash · pitcher · trunk · tear · bound · game

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bound — certain
  5. rash — a series
  6. bound — obliged
  7. file — a document
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. tear — from crying
  11. game — a match
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rash — hasty
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bound — tied together
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. game — wild animals

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