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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 120 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: degree · shower · cabinet · straw · firm · trunk · face · club

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. firm — decided
  4. club — for golf
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. face — part of the head
  9. degree — from a university
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. firm — a company
  12. degree — an amount
  13. face — to confront
  14. club — a group
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. firm — steady
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. face — to point toward
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. club — for dancing
  22. shower — rain
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. degree — temperature

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