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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: scale · shower · can · squash · bear · trunk · mine · fall

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fall — the season
  8. shower — to wash
  9. squash — the sport
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. can — a tin
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bear — the animal
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — to crush
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bear — the animal
  22. scale — size or range
  23. fall — to drop
  24. can — a tin

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