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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: shower · racket · wave · jam · trunk · last · file · root

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. file — a tool
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. file — a line of people
  6. root — of a word
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. last — finally
  9. file — a document
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. root — of a plant
  13. shower — to wash
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. last — to go on
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. last — final
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. root — the cause

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