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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: rush · shower · toast · cell · trunk · track · bowl · content

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. track — a path
  6. shower — rain
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. content — the amount
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. toast — bread
  18. track — to keep track
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. content — happy
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. track — a song
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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