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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 120 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: game · tear · march · trunk · fan · bear · rest · race

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. race — humankind
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bear — the animal
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. rest — a break
  14. march — the month
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. march — music
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. march — the month
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. tear — from crying
  22. race — the arms race
  23. tear — to rip
  24. race — a contest

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