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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.

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 · shower · ball · bowl · charge · kid · nail · march

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. charge — electricity
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. kid — to tease
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. march — the month
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. ball — a great time
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. charge — a price
  15. shower — to wash
  16. charge — in control
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. ball — a dance
  20. shower — rain
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ball — a round shape

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