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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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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: march · fan · season · rash · tear · file · trunk · nail

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. tear — from crying
  4. file — a document
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rash — a series
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. file — a line of people
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. march — music
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. tear — to rip
  23. file — a tool
  24. nail — for a hammer

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