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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · hand · stick · trunk · fan · rest · ground · march

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. shower — rain
  7. march — the month
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rest — a break
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. march — music
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rest — what's left
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. shower — to wash
  20. march — the month
  21. ground — crushed
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ground — a position

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