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

Word bank: shower · drill · foot · wave · lean · temple · trunk · cell

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cell — in biology
  6. lean — to bend
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. shower — rain
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. drill — a practice
  13. foot — a measure
  14. lean — thin
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. drill — army training
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. drill — the tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wave — with your hand

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