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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: last · chair · shower · fall · band · root · tube · trunk

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. root — the cause
  4. root — of a word
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. chair — a leader
  10. band — a music group
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. shower — rain
  18. tube — a container
  19. root — of a plant
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fall — to drop
  24. last — to go on

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