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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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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: shower · rest · coach · cap · tear · press · field · trunk

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. press — a publisher
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — farmland
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. rest — a break
  10. press — newspapers
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rest — what's left
  13. shower — rain
  14. cap — of ice
  15. tear — from crying
  16. press — to push
  17. shower — to wash
  18. field — a subject
  19. cap — a lid
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cap — a hat
  23. tear — to rip
  24. field — for sport

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