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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 116 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: rule · wake · shower · spring · plane · content · trunk · file

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. file — a line of people
  5. rule — government
  6. spring — a coil
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. spring — the season
  9. shower — rain
  10. file — a document
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. spring — of water
  13. plane — a tool
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. content — happy
  17. file — a tool
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rule — a law
  24. content — the amount

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