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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: trunk · drill · march · fine · shower · fan · fall · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. drill — the tool
  5. fall — to drop
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fall — to drop
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. drill — a practice
  13. fall — the season
  14. shower — rain
  15. fine — high quality
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. drill — army training
  18. march — music
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. march — the month
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. march — the month
  24. fine — all right

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