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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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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: court · ground · staff · trunk · shower · cabinet · wind · mine

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. mine — for digging
  7. shower — rain
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. staff — employees
  11. court — of a king
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. ground — a position
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ground — crushed
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. ground — the earth
  22. staff — a stick
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. shower — to wash

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