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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 · cold · trunk · staff · date · present · coach · pop

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. date — the fruit
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pop — soda
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. shower — rain
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pop — music
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. pop — to visit
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cold — not warm
  19. present — a gift
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. present — the time now
  23. shower — to wash
  24. present — there

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