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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: roll · toast · fan · bark · shower · lean · trunk · hand

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bark — to shout
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. toast — bread
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. shower — to wash
  8. lean — thin
  9. roll — a list
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. roll — a cake
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. shower — rain
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. toast — the most admired

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