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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: mate · track · bore · rush · fork · degree · shower · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bore — to drill
  3. mate — a partner
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rush — hurry
  7. shower — rain
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. track — a song
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. fork — in a road
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. track — a path
  18. bore — to tire
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mate — to breed
  24. track — to keep track

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