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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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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: club · content · bear · wake · bay · shower · trunk · cold

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. shower — rain
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. shower — to wash
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. content — happy
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. club — a group
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cold — an illness
  24. trunk — of a tree

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