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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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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 · net · clip · board · wind · court · dip · shower

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. net — in sport
  2. shower — rain
  3. wind — moving air
  4. shower — to wash
  5. court — of a king
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — a committee
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. board — to get on
  11. clip — to cut
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. net — for catching
  23. clip — a video
  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