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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. shower — rain
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. shower — to wash
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. cap — a lid
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. band — a music group
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. craft — a skill
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. dip — to sink
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — hurry
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. spring — the season
  24. craft — boats

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