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

Word bank: craft · fork · wake · kid · shower · file · trunk · saw

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. fork — in a road
  3. saw — the tool
  4. shower — rain
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. craft — boats
  9. shower — to wash
  10. kid — to tease
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. wake — a trail
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. file — a tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. craft — a skill
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. kid — child
  21. file — a document
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. saw — the tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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