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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 · race · chest · shower · field · bore · lash · ball

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. ball — a great time
  3. field — farmland
  4. chest — of your body
  5. shower — to wash
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. chest — of your body
  12. race — humankind
  13. ball — a dance
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. field — for sport
  16. bore — to drill
  17. shower — rain
  18. race — a contest
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. chest — a box
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. field — a subject

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