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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bear — the animal
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. branch — a division
  13. band — a music group
  14. squash — the sport
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. band — a ring
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bear — the animal
  24. squash — to crush

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