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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mine — for digging
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. shower — rain
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. band — a music group
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — to bear
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. band — a ring
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. spring — the season
  20. shower — to wash
  21. spring — of water
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. stand — for spectators

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