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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: track · kid · shower · trunk · wave · game · hand · fine

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. track — a path
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. kid — child
  7. track — a song
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. fine — all right
  13. hand — in cards
  14. game — wild animals
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. track — to keep track
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. shower — to wash
  23. game — a match
  24. fine — high quality

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