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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: leaves · cue · wind · date · shower · march · root · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cue — a hint
  5. march — music
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. root — of a word
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cue — a signal
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — rain
  15. root — the cause
  16. march — the month
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cue — for pool
  19. root — of a plant
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. date — the fruit

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