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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 120 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 · mug · shower · saw · rock · degree · present

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mug — a cup
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. present — there
  6. saw — the tool
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ball — a dance
  10. shower — to wash
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. present — a gift
  15. rock — a stone
  16. present — the time now
  17. shower — rain
  18. mug — a face
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. ball — a great time
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mug — to rob
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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