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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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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: mate · row · content · rock · shower · spring · pit · trunk

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. spring — of water
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. content — happy
  8. pit — in a race
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rock — music
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. content — the amount
  14. mate — a friend
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rock — a stone
  18. shower — to wash
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. mate — to breed
  21. shower — rain
  22. spring — the season
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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