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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: trunk · scale · lean · nail · cap · date · cold · shower

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. shower — rain
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cap — of ice
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. scale — size or range
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. cold — not warm
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cap — a hat
  15. scale — in music
  16. cap — a lid
  17. lean — to bend
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. shower — to wash
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cold — the Cold War

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