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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: trunk · kid · shower · roll · straw · spring · calf · saw

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. roll — a cake
  6. spring — of water
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. roll — a list
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. kid — child
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. shower — to wash
  22. kid — to tease
  23. spring — a coil
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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