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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 120 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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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: band · rush · hand · trunk · march · bay · bat · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. hand — help
  4. bat — the animal
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rush — hurry
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. march — the month
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. band — a music group
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. trunk — of a tree

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