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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 · shower · field · bowl · season · temple · saw · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. field — farmland
  3. pop — music
  4. season — of the year
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. field — a subject
  7. pop — soda
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. saw — the tool
  13. field — for sport
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — to wash
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. shower — rain
  19. season — in sport
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. season — to add flavour

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