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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: trunk · cold · band · ruler · pass · stock · row · shower

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. pass — a permit
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. band — a music group
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. band — a ring
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. stock — shares
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. row — a line
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cold — an illness

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