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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: game · cold · lean · trunk · tube · shower · jam · rock

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rock — a stone
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. game — a match
  9. lean — thin
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. shower — rain
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tube — a container
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. shower — to wash

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