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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 · track · rest · staff · fall · mark · wound · trunk

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wound — an injury
  8. staff — employees
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. track — to keep track
  11. fall — the season
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. staff — employees
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mark — a grade
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. staff — a stick
  19. rest — a break
  20. track — a path
  21. mark — a trace
  22. shower — rain
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wound — an injury

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