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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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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 · rush · arm · shower · land · track · snap · squash

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. shower — rain
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. rush — hurry
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. track — a song
  15. squash — the sport
  16. land — to come down
  17. squash — to crush
  18. track — a path
  19. land — a country
  20. snap — to click
  21. track — to keep track
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. land — ground

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