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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: shower · scale · trunk · band · tube · lie · current · tear

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. shower — to wash
  3. current — of water
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. tube — a container
  7. current — happening now
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. shower — rain
  10. current — electric
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. tube — the underground
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. lie — an untruth

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