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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 · ball · shower · face · scale · nail · mine · content

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mine — for digging
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. ball — a great time
  10. scale — in music
  11. ball — a dance
  12. shower — to wash
  13. scale — size or range
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. shower — rain
  20. face — to confront
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. mine — belonging to me

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