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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: march · shower · ground · bat · stick · trunk · bowl · firm

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — a position
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — the animal
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. shower — rain
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. march — the month
  17. firm — steady
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. shower — to wash
  20. march — the month
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. march — music
  23. firm — a company
  24. firm — decided

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