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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: kid · bay · trunk · shower · wind · cell · chest · wave

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. shower — rain
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. chest — a box
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cell — in biology
  16. kid — to tease
  17. shower — to wash
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. kid — child
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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