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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 116 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: shower · board · bass · prune · trunk · mine · field · cabinet

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. board — to get on
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. field — a subject
  5. shower — rain
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. shower — to wash
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bass — low music
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bass — the fish
  16. field — farmland
  17. prune — to trim
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. field — for sport
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. mine — for digging
  23. board — a committee
  24. mine — belonging to me

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