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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: stand · saw · mate · wound · scale · trunk · pop · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. mate — a friend
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pop — to visit
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. stand — to bear
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. scale — in music
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pop — soda
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wound — an injury
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pop — music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. saw — the tool
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wound — an injury
  24. shower — rain

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