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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
468
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 · toast · coach · kid · fan · shower · mine · rule

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kid — to tease
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. mine — for digging
  13. kid — child
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rule — a law
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. coach — a trainer

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