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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 · trunk · calf · tube · rock · ball · bat · land

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. ball — a dance
  4. land — to come down
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. land — ground
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. shower — rain
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. bat — the animal
  18. land — a country
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. tube — the underground
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. shower — to wash
  24. rock — music

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