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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: trunk · track · ground · saw · press · band · stand · shower

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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 car
  3. track — a song
  4. ground — a position
  5. track — to keep track
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. band — a music group
  8. ground — the earth
  9. press — a publisher
  10. saw — the tool
  11. shower — to wash
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. saw — the tool
  14. press — to push
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. shower — rain
  17. ground — crushed
  18. stand — to bear
  19. track — a path
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. press — newspapers
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — for spectators

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