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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: chest · shower · trunk · arm · ball · spring · bay · tear

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chest — of your body
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. shower — to wash
  6. spring — a coil
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ball — a dance
  9. spring — of water
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. shower — rain
  12. tear — from crying
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ball — a great time
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. spring — the season
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. chest — a box

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