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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: dip · trunk · board · game · shower · straw · wound · craft

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. game — a match
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. board — to get on
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. board — a committee
  14. shower — rain
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wound — an injury
  20. craft — boats
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. craft — a skill
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. dip — to sink

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