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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: drill · trunk · bat · shower · wake · charge · mine · can

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bat — the animal
  4. charge — a price
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. charge — electricity
  8. drill — army training
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mine — for digging
  16. can — to be able to
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. can — a tin
  21. wake — a trail
  22. charge — in control
  23. can — a tin
  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