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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 · shower · kid · wake · trunk · chair · staff · mouse

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. staff — employees
  3. shower — to wash
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chair — a leader
  12. march — the month
  13. kid — child
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wake — a trail
  18. staff — a stick
  19. march — the month
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. staff — employees
  23. shower — rain
  24. march — music

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