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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · leaves · racket · shower · bowl · fine · trunk · spell

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. fine — high quality
  4. shower — rain
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — all right
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. spell — a short time
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. spell — letters
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. spell — magic
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. racket — a loud noise

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