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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: trunk · racket · jam · staff · shower · ball · kid · cold

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. shower — to wash
  5. staff — a stick
  6. kid — child
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. ball — a dance
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. ball — a great time
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. staff — employees
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. kid — to tease
  20. staff — employees
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cold — an illness
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cold — not warm

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